Thank You For Being There
by papertango
Summary: Neither of them would have expected that a one week vacation would turn out to be something much more.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** All characters and settings belong to Kubo Tite.

* * *

Kuchiki Byakuya looked up from his paperwork and frowned in annoyance as the excited chatter outside his division grew louder. He set down his brush and pushed back his chair as he heard another howl of laughter. He made his way outside and glared at the group of noisy shinigamis that were disturbing his peace.

"Ah, Taichou! Look at this!" shouted Abarai Renji as he handed a piece of paper gleefully to Byakuya.

Byakuya read the paper carefully which apparently was a notification from the captain-commander, Yamamoto Genryusai. He gave the letter another read and stared at his lieutenant. "Is the captain-commander serious about this?"

"I certainly hope he is!" replied Renji cheerfully. "We could use that one week break and enjoy ourselves!"

Kira Izuru nudged Renji in the ribs. "Why does Kuchiki Taichou seem displeased? This is the first time our captain-commander is being so generous! One whole week of relaxation in the real world and our rooms are paid for!"

"You know my Taichou. He'll probably think that it's a waste of time and all of us could get a lot of serious stuff done in the meantime." replied Renji.

Byakuya shook his head in disbelief as he walked away from the noisy chatter when he bumped into Ukitake Jushiro.

"Good day, Kuchiki Taichou. You must have heard about the notification." Ukitake greeted pleasantly.

"Yes, I have."

Ukitake chuckled, "Well, you don't seem pleased about it."

"I personally think that the time could be used for better purposes." said Byakuya. "I am going to notify the captain-commander of my absence from this programme."

"Ah, don't bother doing that, Kuchiki Taichou." smiled Ukitake. "Hitsugaya Taichou has already tried but the captain-commander was very insistent that all captains and lieutenant attend this."

"And why is that so?"

"Well, he says that it will be a great opportunity to strengthen the bonds between captains, lieutenants and divisions. I agree with him, actually. It isn't every day we get to have a long break together like this." replied Ukitake happily.

"Does that mean there is no way to get out of this?" asked Byakuya.

"Not at all, Kuchiki Taichou. So my advice for you is just to go and have fun." replied Ukitake with a smile. "You deserve a break from work too."

Byakuya gave a stiff nod. "If it means that much to the captain-commander, then rest assured, I will be present."

"Ah, I'm sure it will be fun. I had better get going. Unohana Taichou will be ready with my supply of medicine anytime soon." said Ukitake as he waved goodbye to Byakuya.

* * *

"Are you just bringing these, Kuchiki-san?" Inoue Orihime asked as she rummaged through the contents of Rukia's bag.

Kuchiki Rukia frowned. "Did I forget to pack my toothbrush? I remember putting it inside."

Orihime giggled. "Yes, you've packed your toothbrush but you forgot to pack your swimsuit!"

Rukia smiled. "I don't need a swimsuit. I'm not going there to swim."

"But our hotel will just be by the beach!" exclaimed Orihime. "With the sun and the sand, won't you feel like swimming? Almost everyone will be down by the beach."

"Well, I threw away my swimsuit just two weeks ago so I don't have one now." replied Rukia.

Orihime smiled happily, "Oh, don't worry! I'll help you pick out one at the beach supplies shop tomorrow!"

Rukia grinned. "Thanks, Inoue! It would be kind of embarrassing to pick out a swimsuit all by myself."

"No problem!" replied Orihime. "I have to get going now. It's already 7p.m. So I'll see you and the rest there tomorrow?"

Rukia smiled and waved goodbye but as soon as her friend left, Rukia let out a sigh. The whole manor seemed to have quietened down after Inoue left. Rukia hated it. She hated the silence that seemed to engulf the manor every time she is alone with the servants. It had gotten worse recently. Byakuya was hardly home. He would always leave the manor in a hurry after his breakfast and would only arrive back late at night. Whenever Rukia tried to strike up a conversation with him, he would always brush her off and walked away quickly saying that he is busy and told her not to bother him.

"And I still thought that things were progressing well between us." scoffed Rukia. Things had indeed turned better ever since the whole incident of Byakuya revealing that Rukia's sister was Hisana and the few times where Byakuya had saved Rukia. But recently it seemed as though Byakuya had been avoiding her on purpose. Rukia thought she might be paranoid but there were a few times when she could sensed Byakuya's reiatsu but when she was about to approach him, his reiatsu would suddenly disappear again.

Rukia glanced up suddenly as she heard the servants addressing her brother. She opened her door immediately and stepped out.

"Nii-sama." she greeted as soon as her brother passed by.

Byakuya continued walking but gave a stiff nod as an acknowledgement.

"Nii-sama!" blurted out Rukia. "Are you coming with us tomorrow?"

Byakuya stopped in his tracks and nodded. "I will be present."

"O-Oh.."

"If there is nothing else, turn in early, Rukia. I will see you tomorrow." replied Byakuya as he walked back to his room.

Rukia stared at his retreating figure as he walked down the hallway until he disappeared around the corner. She then turned back into her room and continued to pack.

* * *

Byakuya laid on his bed as his thoughts starts to wander towards a certain petite black haired shinigami. This has been his routine for almost a month. Every night before he drifts off to sleep, his thoughts would wander to her. Byakuya could not understand. Why is she in his mind constantly? The first few times where she started to appear in his mind while he was doing his paperwork, he had brushed it off blaming it on fatigue. But it seemed to have gotten worse every single day. She occupied his thoughts every morning when he got out of bed, or when he's doing his paperwork in his office and every night before he goes to sleep.

Byakuya sighed as he gazed at the full moon outside his bedroom window. His thoughts drifted towards that few times where he had arrived only just in time to save her from death. He had remembered how fast his heart was pounding against his chest every time he rushed to the scene to save her and the time where he felt his heart had almost stopped functioning when he saw how the Espada, Zommari had taken control over Rukia and had Rukia pointing at her own neck with her katana while she had been unconscious. It had been almost half a year but every time Byakuya pictured that incident with Rukia almost slitting her own throat, he felt something tugging at his heart; what was it, he could not decipher.

Byakuya jolted out of his thoughts as he sensed Rukia's reiatsu approaching. He sat up on his bed and stared at his door. He could see Rukia's shadow through the translucent paper of the sliding door. She seemed to have paused there without moving for almost a minute.

"Nii-sama." She called out finally. "Are you asleep yet?"

Byakuya stood up and slid the door open as Rukia stumbled back.

"I-I'm terribly sorry to disturb you at this hour, Nii-sama, b-but I have to ask you something." stammered Rukia as she stared at her feet.

"And what is it?" asked Byakuya as he too, took a step back from her.

Rukia finally looked up. "Nii-sama, are you mad at me?"

Byakuya frowned. Well, He had not expected this. He presumed that she was going to ask him about the one week trip or perhaps she needed a favour.

"What made you say so?" asked Byakuya, his curiosity rising.

Rukia bit her lip as her eyes left Byakuya and darted around. "W-Well, I feel as though you've been avoiding me lately."

Byakuya cleared his throat uncomfortably as his own eyes settled on the garden behind Rukia. "You must be thinking too much, Rukia."

"B-But Nii-sama, are you sure you're not mad at me? Did I do something wrong again?" asked Rukia worriedly.

"No, Rukia. Everything is fine." lied Byakuya.

Rukia seemed to ponder for a moment before she smiled and replied. "Well, if Nii-sama is certain then I shall take my leave."

"Rest well, Rukia." replied Byakuya as he prepared to slide his door shut.

"Wait, Nii-sama!" exclaimed Rukia suddenly.

Byakuya paused immediately.

"Nii-sama, if there is anything that is bothering you, you can talk to me if you want." said Rukia softly.

Byakuya raised his eyebrows as he stared at Rukia.

"T-That's because I feel as though there is something bothering you, Nii-sama." explained Rukia hurriedly as her face turned a brilliant shade of magenta.

Byakuya nodded. "If there is nothing else Rukia, then I suggest we both get our sleep now."

Rukia bowed and she quickly scurried back to her room.

Byakuya sighed to himself as he closed the door behind him. He cannot avoid Rukia forever. And he noticed the smile on Rukia's face when he told her that there wasn't anything wrong. He had not seen Rukia smile once for the past month. Had she been worrying about this? He had to stop avoiding Rukia as it would not solve anything, in fact, he had thought about her more ever since he started avoiding her. He found himself frequently wondering what she is currently doing, what she is having for her lunch and how her practice was coming along. Byakuya know that it is time to stop. He knows that it is unfair to her if he continued acting this way. The only way to solve things is to compress his emotions to himself. Byakuya sighed again as he went back to bed just when the clock chimed twice.

* * *

**A/N:** Reviews will be much appreciated and will really get me motivated to continue this story! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Sorry about the previous chapter if you guys think that it is boring as it has not much Bya/Rukia action. I needed to show both of their thoughts before going on to the real story. Anyway, the real action will start from here. Hope you guys will enjoy it!

* * *

Rukia smiled happily as she walked out of the train station with Ichigo, Inoue and Renji. They had finally arrived at Shiraha beach and the weather was perfect.

"Ah, what a great Monday to start off!" exclaimed Inoue to no one in particular as she tilted her face towards the warm sunshine. "Too bad Ishida-kun and Sado-kun can't make it."

"Yea, I wonder what they're so busy with." replied Ichigo. "It's our summer break after all."

"Why didn't you come with Taichou, Rukia?" asked Renji.

"Nii-sama had already left the manor by the time I had woken up." replied Rukia as her eyes scanned the crowd of people that were standing outside of the train station.

Ichigo chuckled. "Seems as though Byakuya is really excited about this trip, eh? He might even be down at the beach already!"

"Are you stupid, Ichigo?" said Renji as he rolled his eyes. "Or are you talking about someone else entirely? I bet Taichou went back to the office to settle some paperwork before heading over."

"Oi, don't call me stupid!" Ichigo retorted. "But, yea, that actually makes more sense."

"Of course that makes sense! Anyone with a brain would know that Taichou would never-"

"Cut it out, guys." chided Rukia. "Look, that's Hitsugaya Taichou and the rest!"

Renji glared at Ichigo and he quickly stuck out his tongue at him when Rukia's head was turned.

The four friends made their way over to the big group of faux bodies that seemed to look lost except for a certain strawberry blonde who was already in her bikini busily taking photos.

"Come on, Taichou. Let's take a photo together." Matsumoto Rangiku said happily as she slung her arm around Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Toshiro ignored her as she continued snapping away.

"Oh look! Ichigo and the rest have arrived. Let's go check into our hotel rooms now!" Matsumoto shouted in glee and then skipped her way towards the hotel lobby with a number of people staring at her.

Toshiro sighed. "That Matsumoto can never keep it down, can she?"

Renji laughed as he followed the rest of the shinigamis who are trying to keep up with Matsumoto.

"Oi Rukia, you coming? Why are you standing there? Come on." said Renji.

"I'm waiting for Nii-sama, Renji. He might not know the way after alighting from this station." replied Rukia as she leaned against a pillar, eyes still darting around.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure Taichou will know how to get there. He's not stupid, you know." said Renji as he dragged Rukia along.

* * *

"What's taking Matsumoto so long? We've been waiting here for 15 minutes already." grumbled Toshiro.

"Yoo-hoo! So sorry I took such a long time!" Matsumoto apologised as she walked over, smiling happily. "Here are the card keys to your rooms." she continued as she handed the card keys to everyone.

In less than a minute, everyone had dispersed and was heading to their respective rooms to unpack. Rukia glanced at her card which had the numbers 215 written on it. She walked along the corridor and finally spotted her room and slotted the card in. The door swung open immediately and she stepped in. The room was nothing out of the ordinary. A queen sized bed, a dresser, a closet, a bathroom and a balcony. Rukia started unpacking but stopped when she heard someone calling out for her along the corridor.

"Kuchiki-san! Which room are you in?"

Rukia recognised the voice immediately and shouted. "I'm in 215, Inoue!"

Rukia could hear Inoue's footsteps getting louder and then the orange haired girl appeared at her doorstep.

"Are you done unpacking? We have to get you a swimsuit, remember?" Inoue chirped happily as she walked towards Rukia.

"I'm almost done." replied Rukia as she put her cell phone into her pocket. "Alright, let's go!"

* * *

"Don't cover up, Kuchiki-san. You look great!" exclaimed Matsumoto.

Rukia blushed. "But isn't this a little too revealing?"

"It's fine! I think it looks great on you!" replied Inoue.

Rukia gulped as she stared at herself in the mirror. Matsumoto and Inoue had forced her into the changing room of the swimsuit shop and had forced her to try this swimsuit on. She could not believe it when she had tried it on and looked at the mirror. The purple bikini made her breasts look bigger and it brings out the colour of her eyes. The purple skirt bottom made her waist even smaller. She had opened the door of the changing room reluctantly and the two women had gasped.

"I really think it looks great on you, Kuchiki-san." Inoue repeated and smiled. "I think you should get it."

Rukia bit her lip. "Well, okay. Let me change out of it first."

"Just leave it on, Kuchiki-san! We're heading to the beach right now anyway!" said Inoue.

Matsumoto dragged Rukia to her counter as she said, "Oh, don't worry. With me on the beach, you will look anything but revealing."

Rukia laughed as she paid for her swimsuit and stepped out of the store with Matsumoto and Inoue.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set and Rukia still had not seen Byakuya at all. Has he decided not to come after all? Or is he still avoiding her? They were all going back to their room to wash up after playing around in the beach for four hours.

"Are you coming down to dinner later, Rukia?" Ichigo asked as they made their way back to the hotel.

Rukia yawned. "I'm not sure. I'm not very hungry. I think I'll just head to bed straight away."

"Okay. Then we'll catch up again tomorrow morning." replied Ichigo as they stepped into the lift together.

The lift stopped at the 13th floor and Rukia stepped out. "Bye Ichigo!" she called out and Ichigo waved back before the door of the lifts closed.

Rukia yawned again as she headed to her room. She headed straight to the bathroom and drew a bath and watched as the hot steam swirled around the bathroom. Rukia sighed as she undressed herself. Should she give Byakuya a call? What if he had lost his way?

Rukia shook her head as she laughed at herself. Byakuya would never lose his way. He was Kuchiki Byakuya after all.

After the hot bath, Rukia put on a bathrobe and stepped out of the bathroom. The sun had already set and the whole room was plunged into darkness. Feeling sleepy, Rukia made her way to the bed and drifted off immediately.

* * *

Byakuya frowned as he stepped out of his car after parking it in the hotel's parking lot. The sky had already turned dark and the crickets had started to sing. He rubbed his temples attempting to soothe the headache. He had been up early in the morning to finish up some paperwork and without realising it had already been 7 p.m.

Byakuya made his way to the hotel lobby as he ignored the pointing and giggling from several girls that were trying to catch his attention.

"H-Hi, can we help you, sir?" asked the hotel receptionist as she blushed.

"I would like to have the key to my room." replied Byakuya.

The girl nodded shyly. "And what would your name be registered under?"

"Kuchiki B-"

"Would you go out with me sometime?" the girl blurted out as she interrupted Byakuya.

Byakuya frowned, displeased. "What?"

"Oh no, I'm sorry. Please do not be offended. I'm so sorry!" she apologised and she began fumbling with the computer, while her eyes were still on Byakuya. The girl then handed the key to Byakuya, her hands trembling with nervousness.

Without another word, Byakuya took the key and made his way up to his room. He stepped out of the lift once it reaches his floor and he walked quickly along the corridor. Byakuya then stopped in front of his door and slotted in the card. The door opened but he stood there staring into the dark room. Thoughts were running around in his mind as he contemplated if he should head in or if he should check up on Rukia. Byakuya sighed as he ignored his thoughts and stepped in. He was plunged into darkness but he could not be bothered to even switch on the lights to the room. His head throbbed and he could not wait to get straight to bed.

Byakuya switched on the bathroom light and he stepped in. He removed his Kenseikan and his clothes and quickly stepped into the shower. After showering, he put on a pair of black pants and stepped out of the shower, flicked the light off and headed straight to the bed.

* * *

Byakuya did not know how long he had slept but he opened his eyes as soon as he felt his head hurt again. The room was still dark. It must still be in the middle of the night. As he was about to get back to sleep, he heard a sigh next to him and his eyes shot opened immediately. He turned his head around and came face to face with-

"Rukia?" he whispered as his eyes softened immediately.

He must be dreaming, he decided. He felt another shot of pain through his head as he clamped his eyes shut. He opened his eyes again but Rukia was still there. Fine, if this Rukia from his dream is not planning to disappear, he might as well leave it at that.

The Rukia in his dream sighed again as she snuggled closer to Byakuya. Byakuya hugged her closer to him as he took a whiff of her hair. It smelled like wild flowers. Amazing, the Rukia in his dream even smell like the real Rukia. Byakuya kissed her on the forehead before drifting off to sleep again, knowing that in the morning, he will still be the only person in this room.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** So sorry for the late update! I hope I can make it up to you guys by typing out this longer than usual chapter! More Byaruki action as promised!

* * *

Rukia sighed happily as she snuggled against her warm pillow. She has not slept so well for the longest time. In fact, it had been years since the last time she had such a good rest. Rukia wrapped her arms around the pillow tighter as she inhaled. It smells faintly of cherry blossoms. She could feel the summer heat is starting to warm up the air conditioned room as she shifted and loosened the sash of her robe as she continued to close her eyes. The activities they had on the beach the previous day had drained off all her energy. Rukia hugged her pillow tighter to her and that was when she heard a moan emitting from her pillow. Rukia's eyes flew open when she suddenly realised that pillows do not moan. In fact, pillows do not make any noises at all.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she came face to face with a broad naked chest. She gasped as she quickly looked up. And that was when she saw a pair of grey eyes staring down at her.

The minute Byakuya had woken up was when he felt somebody pressing against him and the minute his eyes snapped open with alarm was when he heard a moan escaping from his lips. Byakuya looked down and that was when he came face to face with Rukia who was looking mortified.

"N-Nii-sama! What are you doing here? Why are we..?" Rukia asked as she withdrew her hands from Byakuya immediately.

Byakuya sat up just as Rukia leapt out of the bed hurriedly. The front of Rukia's robe was loose and Byakuya accidentally caught sight of the side of her breast. He quickly tore his eyes away from the sight and shifted his gaze up to Rukia's face.

"This is my room, Rukia. This is room 215, is it not?" asked Byakuya as he stood up and picked up the card key that he left on the dresser last night before he went to bed.

"B-But Nii-sama, I was in this room even before you came!" spluttered Rukia just when a cool breeze entered the room and she shivered. She looked down and gasped. Her robe was so dangerously loose! She blushed in embarrassment and quickly tightened her robes as she avoided Byakuya's gaze.

Byakuya frowned as he looked around the room. "It was dark when I arrived yesterday. I did not notice your presence in this room, Rukia."

"But Nii-sama, room 215 is my room." said Rukia as she reached into the pocket of her robe and retrieved another numbered 215 card key.

Byakuya thought for a moment before he picked up his clothes from the armchair and stepped into the bathroom, "I will check with the hotel, Rukia. They must have made a mistake."

Rukia nodded and Byakuya disappeared into the bathroom. Rukia tried to calm her racing heart down by taking several deep breaths. Did she just wake up next to her brother? And worst of all, was she hugging him all the time while she slept? Rukia covered her hot face in embarrassment as she groaned. As soon as Rukia heard the click of the bathroom lock, she pretended to busy herself by making the bed.

"The hotel staff will take care of that, Rukia." Byakuya said and he left the room.

The second Byakuya had left the room, Rukia collapsed onto the bed and buried her face into a pillow. Now, _this _is a pillow. Not the one she had been hugging earlier in the morning. Rukia groaned into the pillow again as she whacked her head repeatedly.

* * *

Byakuya walked across the lobby and straight to the same receptionist he had dealt with the previous night.

"H-How may I help you, sir?" asked the hotel receptionist, recognising Byakuya.

"What is the room of the key you had given me last night?" asked Byakuya sternly.

The receptionist gulped, sensing that Byakuya was displeased as she quickly typed into her computer. "Um, you said that you're Kuchiki right? So I gave you another card key to your room."

"Another card key?" echoed Byakuya.

The girl nodded as her gaze was fixed at the computer screen now and then she suddenly gasped. "Oh! There seems to be another room for a Kuchiki here!"

"And is that for Kuchiki Byakuya?" asked Byakuya, his patience wearing thin.

"Y-Yes. I'm terribly sorry for the mistake I've made." she replied worriedly and rummaged through her desk drawer and brought out a card key and handed it to Byakuya.

Byakuya took the card key and stared at the numbers on it. 216. It was the room next to Rukia. After what happened this morning, Byakuya felt that it would not be appropriate for him to stay so close to Rukia. Especially not in the room that is right next to hers.

"Do you have other rooms available?" asked Byakuya.

The girl shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir. Our hotel is fully booked due to the summer school holidays."

Byakuya felt a twinge of annoyance as he left the counter without another word. He could not believe what had just happened earlier. He ended up sleeping in the same bed as Rukia. How could he not notice her presence in the room last night? Byakuya cursed himself mentally. And to think that he had even kissed her forehead last night! How could he have been so foolish to think that the real Rukia was part of his imagination? He should have known better than that. It must be the headache, he finally decided.

* * *

After almost getting a concussion from whacking her head repeatedly, Rukia got dressed and made her way down to the lobby when she bumped into the breasts of a certain someone.

"Ah, watch where you're going, Rukia. They almost got squashed, you know." said Matsumoto well naturedly.

Rukia stepped back immediately. "Sorry, Rangiku-san. I was just daydreaming for a bit."

Rangiku laughed. "Hai, hai, it's alright. No need to apologise for that. Oh, look, its Kuchiki Taichou heading this way."

"Rukia, I need to talk to you." said Byakuya once he approached them.

"What's the rush, Kuchiki Taichou? Chat with us for a bit." Matsumoto smiled. "How was the night? Did you sleep well?"

Rukia blushed immediately and she quickly tried to cover it up with a cough which drew Matsumoto's attention to her instead.

"My my, are you not feeling well? You look slightly feverish, Rukia. Your face is all red." Matsumoto stared at her, concerned.

Rukia cleared her throat immediately. "I'm fine."

Matsumoto shrugged as she continued. "So how was the bed? I was the one who booked the rooms and I even had to shake _these_" she pointed to her breasts "to that old dude so he would let us have better beds. Even the pillows are stuffed with 100 percent feathers."

"They're fine, Rangiku-san." replied Rukia smiling.

"Fine? Are you sure they are just fine? What about the pillows?" she exclaimed dramatically.

"P-Pillows?" stammered Rukia. Her mind had suddenly brought her back to earlier this morning when she had snuggled up to Byakuya, mistaking him for a pillow. Rukia gulped as she forced herself out of her thoughts.

They're good, aren't they?" asked Matsumoto again.

"Uh, yes. I enjoyed the room, Rangiku-san. And thank you for going through the trouble to book these rooms for us. I'm sure the others appreciate it as well." said Rukia quickly hoping that Matsumoto would leave.

Matsumoto seemed satisfied at last. "It was no trouble at all." she replied happily. "Well, I'm off to have some breakfast with the rest now! See you two later!"

As soon as she bounded off, Byakuya spoke. "The staff gave me the key to your room last night, Rukia. They made a mistake and I did not notice you were in the room last night."

"It's okay, Nii-sama. I'm glad it's all cleared up." replied Rukia while staring at the floor.

Byakuya nodded. "In any case, my room is just next to yours, if there is any problem, you may look for me there."

"Yes, Nii-sama." replied Rukia as Byakuya walked off.

Rukia felt a slap landed on her back as she whirled around in surprise.

"Renji! What the hell is that for?" scowled Rukia.

Renji chuckled. "I saw you staring into space so I decided to snap you out of it."

Rukia glared at him. "What's up?"

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" asked Renji. "If not, you had better hurry. We will all be playing games after breakfast."

With a rumbling stomach, Rukia followed Renji into the café as he continued babbling on.

* * *

"Ah, since everyone is here, we can start the game!" Ukitake said cheerily as he fanned himself while Shunsui Kyoraku stood next to him.

Rukia dug her foot into the sand as she sneaked a peek at Byakuya who was standing next to Hitsugaya Toshiro, both of them looking quite sullen.

"I have split all of you into groups of twos. And each group will be issued a map of this town and a piece of paper where there will be hints as to where the hidden gold seal will be. The group who finds the gold seal first eventually wins the game!" explained Ukitake.

"A map of this town? What do you mean?" Renji asked in alarm. "Does that mean that the seal can be anywhere in this town?"

"Ah, yes. Don't worry. This is a really small town after all." replied Ukitake smiling.

"So what will the prize be?" asked Ichigo.

Ukitake took a sip of lemonade from his glass and swallowed. "Yes, the prize. It will be an approval of a week absence for the winning team by the captain-commander himself."

Everyone stared at Ukitake as he laughed. "Yes yes, don't look so shocked. The captain commander had already approved."

There was a buzz of excitement between the shinigamis as Ukitake clapped his hands for attention and the hubbub died down.

Ukitake then cleared his throat. "I'll now announce who gets paired up with whom."

The rest of the shinigamis stared at Ukitake excited as he unfolds a piece of paper and began to read. "Hitsugaya Taichou will be paired with Kira-kun. The next pair will be Abarai-kun with Kurosaki-kun. And then the Kuchiki siblings shall be the next pair…"

Rukia who had been busily sneaking peeks at her Nii-sama suddenly turned her head towards Ukitake in surprise.

"Nii-sama? Am I teaming up with Nii-sama?" asked Rukia, her eyes turning wide.

Ukitake stared at her in surprise. "Yes, there's no problem with this, right, Rukia?"

Rukia gulped as she turned to take a look at Byakuya, who unfortunately caught her stare as he stared back, his face displaying his usual aloof expression.

"Is there a problem, Rukia?" Ukitake repeated.

Rukia quickly shook her head. "No, none at all, Taichou. It's fine."

Ukitake smiled as he continued reading from the piece of paper while Rukia wiped her clammy hands on her skirt.

"Rukia."

Rukia froze as she heard the familiar voice of her Nii-sama calling out to her. She looked up slowly to find Byakuya staring down at her.

"Y-Yes, Nii-sama?"

"Are there any problems with teaming up with me?" asked Byakuya, expressionless. "Or do you prefer to team up with someone else?"

Rukia shook her head quickly. "No problems at all, Nii-sama. I was just confirming with Ukitake Taichou again."

Byakuya did not reply but instead stared at the town map that were given to him.

"Nii-sama, aren't you reluctant to participate in this game?" asked Rukia timidly.

Byakuya continued staring at the map, a frown on his face. "Indeed I was, Rukia. But since this will turn out to be a competition, it might not be so bad after all."

Rukia looked up just as Ukitake was announcing the last team.

"The maps and guide have been given to each team so do your best, everyone. And the race officially starts now!" Ukitake announced gleefully.

Sand and dust flew everywhere as each team scampered off in a hurry hoping to find the golden seal.

"Let's go, Rukia." Byakuya said calmly as he led the way.

* * *

Ukitake smiled as the shinigamis took off and turned to Shunsui Kyoraku. "It's surprising how Yamamoto-Sensei agreed to the prize."

Kyoraku grinned. "I will be surprised if he approves that too."

Ukitake stared at him in surprise. "What do you mean? Didn't you get the approval from him?"

"Approval? That old fart wouldn't agree to it!" laughed Kyoraku heartily.

"Then why did you tell me that he had it approved?" asked Ukitake.

Kyoraku smiled as he slapped his friend on the back. "To get everyone off this resort and beach, of course! With Abarai Renji and Kurosaki Ichigo always bickering with each other, they're scaring all the pretty girls away!"

Ukitake sighed. "Well, if it's just the two of them, I'm sure there will be a better way than this. Now we're deceiving the rest and even two captains!"

"Oh, not just them. Don't even get me started on Kuchiki Taichou." grumbled Kyoraku. "All the ladies are drooling all over him. No girls pay any attention to me once he steps into the room. Ah, I miss my Nanao-chan!"

Ukitake laughed. "Well, you've got what you wanted now. Stop grumbling and enjoy before anyone comes back with the golden seal and demands for their prize."

"Oh, not to worry, they won't be back so soon. That golden seal, not easy to find, my friend." said Kyoraku.

Ukitake frowned. "Did you hide it in some ridiculous place where nobody will think of?"

"Of course not."

"Then where is it?" asked Ukitake.

"Well, I don't know since there was no gold seal in the first place." replied Kyoraku nonchalantly.

Ukitake sighed. "And I think I need a few more glasses of lemonade…"

* * *

The afternoon sun was beating down harshly as Rukia jogged to keep up with Byakuya's long strides. They were getting further away from the hotel and they seemed to be venturing into a mountainous area with steep slopes everywhere. There was nobody in sight. No normal human beings or any shinigamis.

"Nii-sama, have you got it figured out?" asked Rukia panting.

Byakuya looked up from the map and the guide as he stared ahead at a crossroad. "I think we should turn right here."

Rukia stared at the map and then the guide and frowned. "Shouldn't it be left, Nii-sama?"

Byakuya looked at the guide again and then turned to Rukia. "Maybe we can turn right and if it is wrong, we can come back and take the left route."

Rukia nodded as they trudged up the steep slope.

* * *

The trees are getting thicker as Rukia hurried alongside Byakuya.

"Nii-sama, maybe it isn't here. There's nothing here at all." said Rukia as she stopped to catch her breath.

Byakuya, noticing that Rukia was getting tired, stopped in his tracks too. He looked at the map again and frowned.

"Some hints in the guide are not making any sense." replied Byakuya.

"Maybe we should take the left route, Nii-sama. Shall we head back to where we were previously?" suggested Rukia.

Byakuya agreed and the both of them made a turnabout to get back to the crossroad once again.

The sky was turning dark as Rukia and Byakuya made their way up the steep slope. Rukia glanced at her watch. It had been almost an hour since they had taken this left route and there was nothing too.

"It is getting dark." stated Byakuya as he turned around to look at Rukia.

"Does Nii-sama wants to head back to the hotel?" asked Rukia hopefully. Her muscles were aching so much and she yearns for a hot bath and some steaming warm rice.

Rukia thought she saw a flicker of disappointment pass by Byakuya's eyes when she suggested going back.

"If you wish to head back to the hotel, we can head back now." replied Byakuya.

"W-Well, maybe we can look for it a bit more. Maybe it's just around the corner." said Rukia and smiled.

"Are you sure, Rukia? You seem awfully tired."

"Yes. I'm fine, Nii-sama. We can't afford to lose to Ichigo and the others right?" smiled Rukia as she continued upwards.

"Be careful, Rukia. In front-" Byakuya warned just as Rukia stumbled and slipped and landed on her bottom.

"Rukia! Are you alright?" asked Byakuya worriedly as he extended a hand to help her up.

Rukia nodded and held on to Byakuya's hand as he pulled her up.

"I'm fine, Nii-sama. Let's continue-Owww!" yelped Rukia as she lift her right leg off the ground and winced in pain.

"What is the matter, Rukia? Did you get hurt?" asked Byakuya as his voice filled with concern.

"I think I've sprained my leg." whimpered Rukia as she clutched on to her right leg.

Byakuya stared at Rukia as she winced in pain again. "Let us head back, Rukia. You cannot continue in this state anymore. Can you still walk?"

Rukia nodded as she tried to take another step. She felt pain shot through her ankle and gritted her teeth.

Byakuya sighed as he suddenly crouched down in front of Rukia. "Get on, Rukia."

"W-Wha-? Nii-sama! You don't have to do this!" exclaimed Rukia as she blushed.

"Just get on, Rukia. How long do you want me to stay in this position?" asked Byakuya.

Rukia exhaled as she climbed onto Byakuya's back gingerly.

"It is alright, Rukia. I will not break." said Byakuya wearily as he stood up with Rukia clutching onto his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Nii-sama. You really don't have to do this."

Byakuya made his way down the slope as a smile slowly traced his lips. "It really is alright, Rukia."

"B-But for Nii-sama to piggyback me like this… Isn't it…" Rukia trailed off as she blushed again.

"There is no other choice, Rukia. Or would you prefer if I carried you in my arms?" asked Byakuya.

Rukia's eyes widened and stared at Byakuya just in time to catch him wiping a smile off his face.

"Nii-sama… Did you just joke and then smile?" asked Rukia as she continued staring at him in bewilderment.

Byakuya stopped walking suddenly and blinked several times.

"Is that weird, Rukia?" he asked cautiously.

"Of course! I've hardly seem you smile, Nii-sama. And you even joked!" replied Rukia still staring at Byakuya in awe.

Byakuya continued down the slope again but this time another smile appeared on his face and he did not even make an effort to conceal it.

* * *

Rukia yawned as she looked at her watch again. It had been a half hour but the trees seem to be getting thicker.

"Nii-sama, are we heading back on the right direction?" asked Rukia worriedly.

"It should be correct. Another left turn here and we should be able to see the crossroad straight ahead." said Byakuya as he turned left.

But as soon as he turned left, they could not see any clearing or crossroad. In fact, there was nothing but more trees.

Byakuya frowned and turned around. "Maybe it should be right instead of left."

Byakuya continued walking back and then made a right turn but to their dismay there was no crossroad at all.

"N-Nii-sama, are we lost?" Rukia asked finally.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you've had fun reading this chapter as much as I had in writing it! Remember to drop me a review! More reviews = Faster updates from me!  
And I'll drop a few hints for my next chapter. An Onsen (hot spring) and a naked Byakuya and Rukia! Teeheeheehee!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you for the awesome reviews! Please keep the love and motivation coming, okay? And here is the Onsen and naked Byakuya and Rukia chapter as promised!

**Words to note:** Onsen refers to hot spring. Kimino refers to... well, go google if you don't know. How can anyone not know what a kimono is if they watch Bleach?

* * *

Rukia glanced around her surroundings once more. It was hard to determine where they currently were since everywhere looks the same. There was nothing but trees. She looked at Byakuya again to find him staring at the map once again.

"Nii-sama, why don't you put me down first before examining the map?" asked Rukia meekly. "I'm not exactly that light."

"It is alright." replied Byakuya without taking his eyes off the map.

The two of them lapsed into silence as Byakuya studied the map while Rukia tried not to fidget too much, afraid of causing any more disturbances to her Nii-sama.

Rukia sighed mentally. So much had happened ever since she woke up next to Byakuya this morning and the weirdness does not stop there. She did not know why but every time her brother had looked at her, Rukia had felt a funny feeling at the pit of her stomach. She could not decipher what that feeling was or what it represents but it did not feel good. Was it due to nervousness or embarrassment from what happened earlier that morning?

Rukia let her thoughts wander back to what she had encountered earlier this morning. That toned and broad chest that belonged to her brother popped into her mind immediately and Rukia quickly banished that image away. How inappropriate! Rukia shook her head as she tried to focus on the map which Byakuya was holding instead.

* * *

Byakuya frowned as he stared at the map in his hands. Lost? How could he, of all people have gotten lost? And the worst part was he did not even realise it until Rukia had voiced it out. Byakuya glared at the map, folded it and tucked it into his pocket.

"Nii-sama." Rukia suddenly called out from behind. "Do you know the way out already?"

"No, Rukia. Does your ankle still hurt?" he asked.

"Not really."

Byakuya fell silent once again as he continued on his way.

"Nii-sama, where are we headed to? Maybe we should call Ichigo and Renji for help." suggested Rukia.

Byakuya felt a flare of annoyance as soon as the name Ichigo came out from Rukia's lips. "I am sure we are capable of finding our way out of here without their help, Rukia."

"But it's getting dark, Nii-sama and I'm afraid we might-"

"I do not need the assistance of Kurosaki Ichigo." cut in Byakuya firmly.

He did not hear another word from Rukia after that and he quickened his pace, hoping that he would be able to find the way out.

Byakuya's pace did not slow down after half an hour since the two of them had last exchanged words. He did not know if he had spoken too harshly to Rukia after she mentioned getting help from that brat and Renji.

He did not mean to snap at her but he just could not stand to hear Kurosaki Ichigo's name right now when they were cold, hungry and lost.

Byakuya continued walking around aimlessly hoping he had a chance to find the exit.

* * *

Rukia stared ahead as Byakuya walked around in silence. She was taken aback when he suddenly snapped at her just now but she wasn't angry. She was merely surprised as she hardly sees her brother display any emotions. He seemed annoyed just now at the mention of getting help and Rukia could not blame him. He was a proud man who refuses help after all.

"Nii-sama, I'm sorry for suggesting for help." said Rukia softly as she stared at Byakuya's face.

Byakuya seemed to ponder over what Rukia had said and then nodded without saying a word.

Rukia did not know if he truly accepted her apology or not or if he was tired and decided not to speak further until she saw something straight ahead.

"Nii-sama!" she called out suddenly, her voice an octave higher than usual.

Byakuya whipped his head around immediately in alarm. "What happened?"

Rukia then pointed ahead as she smiled. "Look!"

Byakuya frowned as his gaze followed the direction of Rukia's finger. Up ahead was a house. Not exactly a house but it seemed like a guesthouse as there was a 'Welcome to the Lover's Hut' sign outside.

"We could ask for directions, Nii-sama!" chirped Rukia happily.

Byakuya silently praised Rukia for taking notice of the guesthouse as he was too busy with his thoughts that he hadn't notice it. He then made his way over to the guesthouse with Rukia on his back.

The smell of food and freshly cut flowers filled their noses as they stepped into the guesthouse. Rukia's stomach gave a rumble as she quickly coughed, hoping to cover up the noise.

There was a lady in her mid-sixties standing at the counter beaming at them as they entered.

"Good evening! Are you here to stay for the night?" she asked as she gazed at them.

"We are here to ask for directions." replied Byakuya. "How do we get back to the main town from here?"

The lady smiled kindly. "It will take an hour or two, sir. Why don't you stay here for the night and travel again in the morning? It is getting dark and it is dangerous out there."

"What do you think, Rukia?" asked Byakuya.

Before Rukia could answer, the lady chipped in. "This young lady looks fatigued! Is she hurt?"

"I-I'm fine. Just a sprain in the ankle." replied Rukia.

"Oh dear, why don't you sit down for a while first? Have some hot tea and I'll get my husband to look at your ankle." the lady said.

Byakuya gave a questioning look.

"My husband knows a thing or two about massaging sprained ankle. Don't worry, you'll be up and running again in no time. Come, take a seat here."

Byakuya let Rukia down and helped her towards a chair as the lady went to look for her husband.

"Does it still hurt?" asked Byakuya.

"Not a lot. I'm really fine, Nii-sama." replied Rukia.

Byakuya stared at Rukia's ankle as she rubbed it in circles attempting to soothe the pain.

"I think it is best if we stay for the night. It is too dark for us to continue heading back." said Byakuya.

Rukia nodded just when the lady returned with her husband.

"Thank goodness it's not too serious. Don't worry, young lady, you'll be fine after an hour or so after my massage." said the old man kindly as he dragged a stool, sat down and began massaging Rukia's ankle.

"We'd like to stay for the night, if that is possible." Byakuya said politely.

"Of course it's possible!"

"How much is it for two rooms?" asked Byakuya as he fished out his wallet.

"¥18,000, sir."

Byakuya opened his wallet but to his dismay, his notes compartment was empty. His thoughts suddenly brought him back to what happened earlier this morning after his conversation with Rukia in the lobby…

"_The staff gave me the key to your room last night, Rukia. They made a mistake and I did not notice you were in the room last night." explained Byakuya._

"_It's okay, Nii-sama. I'm glad it's all cleared up." replied Rukia while staring at the floor._

_Byakuya nodded. "In any case, my room is just next to yours, if there is any problem, you may look for me there."_

"_Yes, Nii-sama." replied Rukia as Byakuya walked off._

_Byakuya was heading back to his own room when he heard a familiar squeal and then a voice shouting, "Bya-kun! Bya-kun!"_

_He ignored the person and quickened his pace hoping to shake off the annoying person. Instead of drifting away, the voice seemed to get closer when finally Byakuya felt someone tug on the hem of his shirt._

_He turned around, irritated and as predicted, to find the pink-haired lieutenant grinning up towards him._

"_Bya-Kun, do you have __2000 (approximately USD$23) to spare?" chirped Yachiru happily._

"_No." And with that, Byakuya turned around and continued walking back to his room._

_But Yachiru refused to be ignored like this. She frowned and kept her pace next to Byakuya who continued to stare ahead, determind to ignore her._

"_Are you sure you refuse to give me __2000, Bya-kun?" asked Yachiru in a sing-song manner._

_Byakuya stopped in his tracks and stared at the pink haired lieutenant. "Why do you want __2000 from me? Do you not have your own money?"_

_Yachiru grinned. "I want to buy candies but I don't like to spend too much of my own money."_

"_And what makes you think that I would pay for your candies?" asked Byakuya dryly._

"_Well, considering the fact that I have some news on Bya-kun that maybe he doesn't want it to be let out." Yachiru said with a cheeky smile._

_Byakuya frowned. What news could this brat have on him that he wishes to remain it as a secret? "And what news would that be?"_

"_I saw you coming out of Rukia-chan's room this morning hastily." said Yachiru while staring at Byakuya. "Did you do something naughty to Rukia-chan, Bya-kun?"_

_Byakuya tried to remain calm as he stared at the little devil in front of him. So she had seen him emerging out of Rukia's room. Big deal. It was not as though he really did anything wrong. It was just a simple mistake. The hotel had given him the key to Rukia's room, that's all. But on the other hand, Byakuya could feel a new feeling creeping into him. Guilt, it seems. He cannot deny the fact that he was actually happy to find Rukia snuggling up to him the previous night and had even kissed her forehead. Even though Byakuya had thought it was all a dream last night, he was still happy to see Rukia beside him on the bed._

"_So what do you think, Bya-kun?" Yachiru asked._

"_Fine. Take the money but do not breathe a word of this to anyone." warned Byakuya as he tossed his wallet at her._

_Yachiru squealed in glee as she took a handful of notes from Byakuya's wallet before tossing it back to him. _

"_Don't worry, Bya-kun! Your secret will be safe with me! Wheee!" she shouted in delight and disappeared around the corner. _

_Byakuya had tucked his wallet back into his pocket without even taking a look at how much Yachiru had taken as he mentally reprimanded himself for giving in to Yachiru's blackmail._

Byakuya snapped himself out of his reverie as he heard the old lady calling out to him.

"Are you okay, sir?" she asked, concerned.

"How much money do you have now, Rukia?" Byakuya asked as he turned his attention from his wallet to Rukia whose leg was still being massaged by the old man.

Rukia reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a fistful of notes. She uncurled her fingers and counted the money.

"There's only ¥10,000." replied Rukia as she stared at Byakuya. "Do we not have enough to stay?"

Byakuya turned back to the old lady. "Do you accept credit cards?"

The old lady shook her head. "I'm so sorry. We only accept cash here."

"What is the best that you can give us for ¥10,000?" asked Byakuya.

"Well, for ¥10,000, you can get a one room suite for the night with dinner tonight and breakfast for tomorrow free. But that is provided if you two are a married couple." replied the old lady.

Rukia frowned."Married couple? Why is this only applicable for married couples?"

"It is me and my husband's wedding anniversary today. And every year on this date, we will have a promotion for married couples to come and enjoy their time here together." explained the lady.

Rukia suddenly felt pressure off her ankle and she looked up to see the old man smiling kindly down at her. "Your ankle will be fine now, young lady. But try not to put too much pressure on it for the time being."

Rukia thanked him gratefully as she stood up. True enough, her ankle does not hurt as much anymore. She made her way towards Byakuya who seemed to have lapse into silence as he watched her taking each step towards him.

"Hold on a minute, dears. I smell something funny in the kitchen. I hope my daughter isn't trying to burn down the stove again." the old lady chuckled as she made her way to the back, followed by her husband.

"Nii-sama, do we have enough money?" asked Rukia.

"No." replied Byakuya who had taken his eyes off her. "I am afraid we do not have enough money for two rooms. But we can just book one room and you can rest in there, Rukia."

"Then what about Nii-sama?"

"I will be fine. I can sit here and we can leave tomorrow." replied Byakuya, his face impassive.

Rukia looked down but before doing so, she sneaked a peek at Byakuya. She does not like the thought of Byakuya sitting here for the whole night without resting while she gets to rest. It wasn't fair. He is probably more exhausted than she is; having to carry her on his back for so many hours.

"I have an idea, Nii-sama." said Rukia slowly. "It should be able to work…"

Byakuya stared at Rukia, puzzled.

"And the both of us get to rest too. And we'd have food to eat!" exclaimed Rukia happily to herself.

"What are you talking about, Rukia?" asked Byakuya.

Rukia looked up and smiled brightly. "Nii-sama, we should pretend to be married. In that way, we both get to rest in the room and we'd get to eat too!"

Byakuya stared at Rukia, aghast. "Pretend that we are married?" he echoed.

Rukia nodded excitedly. "Don't worry, Nii-sama. We will only be pretending! They won't know!"

"But that means we will be sharing the same room, Rukia." said Byakuya slowly.

"I know, Nii-sama. But I'm sure there will be a couch in the room right? One of us can sleep on the bed, and the other will sleep on the couch." explained Rukia.

Byakuya seemed to ponder over the idea for a moment. But then, he shook his head. "It is not appropriate for us to lie to them, Rukia. You should just get a room and I will sit out here."

Rukia's face fell immediately. "B-But Nii-sama, the both of us won't be able to eat anything if I were to spend ¥9,000 on one room. We won't be able to get any food for both of us for ¥1,000. And please don't say that you won't eat, Nii-sama. Because if not, then you won't have energy and it's not healthy, is it?"

Byakuya raised his eyebrows half in amazement and half in amusement. It was the first time he had seen Rukia blabbered on in front of his presence.

After catching the look on Byakuya's face, Rukia seemed to notice what she just did and she quickly bowed. "I'm so sorry, Nii-sama. I assure you that this will not happen again."

"It is alright, Rukia." said Byakuya as Rukia lifted her head up to look at him. "And you have to stop calling my Nii-sama if you want this plan to work."

Rukia's face brightened immediately. "Really, Nii-sama? You will go along with this plan?"

Byakuya nodded just when the old lady stepped back into the room.

"We will like to get the couple suite." said Byakuya smoothly.

The lady gave a look of surprise and smiled. "The couple suite? Well, you should have said that you two were married earlier!"

Byakuya smiled and Rukia quickly chipped in. "Well, we just got married today and we still haven't gotten used to it."

The lady clapped her hands in delight. "You two got married today? Isn't that nice! Well, since the both of you share the same wedding day as me and my husband, I'll let you have the couple suite at ¥6,000 instead!"

Rukia smiled in triumphant while Byakuya stared at her in amazement again.

"Come along, let me show you your room." the old lady said as she led them up the stairs.

* * *

After the old lady had left their room, Rukia let out a giggle.

"I did not know you have a talent in acting." Byakuya remarked as he surveyed the room.

A large four poster bed is situated beside the windows but then Byakuya noticed that there was no couch at all.

Rukia laughed. "I always use my acting skills in front of Ichigo's father so he would let me stay over."

Byakuya felt that familiar flare of annoyance again and he quickly tried to suppress it. "Do you always stay with Kurosaki Ichigo when you are in the real world?"

Rukia nodded. "All the time. I like his family."

Byakuya did not reply. "There is no couch in here, Rukia."

Rukia looked around in dismay. "Oh! You're right, Nii-sama."

"It is alright. I can sleep on the floor instead."

"Why don't Nii-sama sleep on the bed instead of me?" asked Rukia quickly. She cannot imagine the sight of Byakuya sleeping on the cold floor. He was a noble after all.

"I will sleep on the floor." repeated Byakuya and the tone in his voice told Rukia that there is no room for argument.

Something that was on the bed caught Rukia's attention suddenly. Her eyes sparkled in delight as she rushed over to pick them up.

"Oh, Chappy! Two Chappies, in fact!" she said gleefully as she hugged them to her chest.

Byakuya frowned. This was actually the first time he had seen Rukia so excited over… cotton. Cotton in the shape of rabbits to be precise. He had been in Rukia's room once or twice and had seen her room littered with rabbits but he did not realise that she love rabbits to this extent.

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Byakuya opened it. The old lady had returned with two trays with food and she set them down on the tea table. Her eyes turned to Rukia and smiled.

"Ah, I see you must like them a lot." she said, smiling. "The two rabbit plush comes together with the suite. One rabbit is for you, and the other is for your husband. They're a couple too."

Rukia looked down at the two rabbits in her hands. One of them was wearing a women's kimono while the other was wearing a men's kimono.

"Well, then, have a good rest." The lady bid them goodnight and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Rukia then handed Byakuya's rabbit plush to him, while smiling. "This is yours, Nii-sama."

Byakuya stared at the rabbit in his hands. What is he going to do with it? What _can_ he do with it? "It is fine, Rukia. You can keep both. I have no use for it."

Rukia's face fell. "Do you hate rabbits, Nii-sama?"

"I do not hate them but neither do I like them."

Rukia's face remains unchanged. "W-Well, if Nii-sama doesn't like rabbits, then…"

Byakuya felt a tug in his heart as he looked at Rukia's disappointed face. She was still clutching on to his rabbit.

Finally, Byakuya found himself saying, "I guess it will not do any harm in taking it."

And he took the rabbit from Rukia's hand. Rukia looked up in surprise but she broke into a smile immediately.

Byakuya could not help himself but smiled back at Rukia.

"Let's eat, Nii-sama. I'm starved!" announced Rukia as she sat down in front of the tea table and picked up her chopsticks.

* * *

Rukia sighed to herself as she laid spread out on the bed. After their dinner, Byakuya had told her that he will be going for a walk and might be back late. He had even told her not to stay up too late. Rukia blushed as what he had said reminded her of what a husband would say to his wife. She let a giggle escape her lips as she turned to her side and came face to face with the two rabbits lying there.

Her Nii-sama had surprised her with his behaviour today. It seemed to Rukia that he seemed to be loosening up which is a good thing. He seemed more approachable and Rukia had had fun with him. She likes it when he jokes and smiles. Although Rukia only heard him joke once and only seen him smile three times today, it was a big deal, considering the fact that it is her Nii-sama who was doing that.

Feeling bored, she got up from the bed and looked at the clock.

"Might as well take a look around since it's only ten." she muttered to herself.

She walked out of the room and made her way down the stairs to the reception area. The old lady was still there, reading a magazine.

The old lady seemed to hear the creak of the stairs and looked up. "Having trouble sleeping?"

Rukia smiled and shook her head. "It is still a little early to head to bed."

"Well, why don't you take a dip in the Onsen?" the old lady suggested.

Well, it seemed like a pretty good idea. She could relax her muscles. Rukia nodded eagerly and the lady pointed to her left, a little corridor wedged between the stairs and the reception table.

"Walk straight in and you'll see a gate that leads to outside which is where the Onsen is. Don't worry, dear, take as much time as you need. The Onsen is a private place where it can only be entered through the gate and there isn't any other guests here today so nobody will enter." explained the old lady.

Rukia thanked her, grabbed a towel from the reception table and made her way to the Onsen.

She pushed the gate open and the beautiful sight took her breath away. Hundreds of stars speckled across the dark sky and the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. The breeze made the trees sway slightly and it made Rukia feel as though it was raining pink cherry blossom petals. Situated in the middle of the cherry blossom trees was the hot spring.

Rukia spotted a few cubicles nearby and went in one of them. Stripping off her clothes and underwear, she hung them up and wrapped herself in her towel and stepped out.

The breeze made Rukia shiver slightly as she made small steps towards the hot spring. Just then, she heard a click behind her and she whirled around in surprise.

A naked man had emerged from one of the cubicle and had stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed her.

Rukia stared at the naked chest in alarm. She did not dare to look any higher or lower as she contemplated what she should do next. Run? Attack him?

"R-Rukia…"

Rukia snapped her head up in surprise when she heard her name and then saw Byakuya staring straight at her, equally surprised.

Rukia stumbled back in surprise at the sight of her Nii-sama but then the heel of her feet landed on the edge of the hot spring. She gasped as she felt herself falling backwards.

A hand shot out immediately and grabbed on to Rukia and pulled her back to safety. But as the movement was too sudden and drastic, Rukia felt her towel loosening and then slipped down in the process.

Rukia squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her head colliding against Byakuya's chest. When she felt herself being held steady by Byakuya, she opened her eyes to find herself in the most awkward position.

Rukia's nose was almost touching Byakuya's naked chest as he held on to her arms to steady her. Her breasts were pressed against him and then it dawned on Rukia that right now, she was naked as well.

* * *

**A/N:** Bwahahaha! Review if you like it! And I can't believe I made them stand so closely together while both of them are *cough* naked *cough* *cough*. Let me know which part you like the most, okay? The part where they pretended to get married, or Byakuya accepting the rabbit plush just to make Rukia happy or the *cough* last part. I personally like the part where Byakuya accepted the rabbit. So let me know what you guys think! (:  
Remember to review!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Sorry again for the long wait! Been really busy with school. I hope you guys are still reading this! By the way, I don't have a beta so please endure if you happen to spot any grammer or typing errors. Sometimes, I type too much in one shot and my eyes will go all blur and hazy (like now) so I might miss those errors.

* * *

It was probably just five seconds of silence as Byakuya held on to Rukia to steady her. But to Rukia, it felt like it had been a month or perhaps even a year. She realised the position they were in but did not know what she should do. Should she take a step back? Push Byakuya away? Or should she just continue standing here while wishing that everything was just a nightmare?

Rukia felt Byakuya release his hold on her suddenly and she quickly grabbed her towel on the floor to cover herself up. She turned her back to Byakuya instantly and shut her eyes.

"N-Nii-sama, Why don't you head out first?" she managed to croak out.

Rukia could not see Byakuya but there was a moment of silence before he answered. "Yes, of course."

Rukia then heard the creak of the cubicle door, the shuffling of feet and then the sound of her Nii-sama's voice.

"I am done, Rukia. I will head out now."

And with that, she heard Byakuya closing the gate and soon, his footsteps faded away.

Rukia exhaled. She had not realised she had been holding her breath the whole time. Slowly turning around, she caught sight of her reflection on the water's surface. She looked flushed and bothered and her eyes were still wide with surprise. Rukia rubbed her cheeks as she headed towards the cubicle.

* * *

Byakuya forced his legs to continue making their way towards the reception as his mind tried to register how did all of that happened. The old lady had informed him that there was no one in the Onsen and she would not allow anyone to enter if he intends to take a dip. So how in the world did Rukia made her way in?

Byakuya stood in front of the reception table, his face stern.

"Is there anything wrong, sir?" the old lady asked, concerned.

Byakuya cleared his throat. "Did you not say that you would not allow anyone to enter the Onsen if I was inside? How did Rukia get in then?"

The old lady frowned. "You mean your wife? Well, since the both of you are married, it doesn't matter that she went in, right?"

Byakuya stared at the old lady. Well! He had forgotten that he and Rukia were supposed to be a married couple now. And if they were really married, then it would not seem weird for the both of them to take a dip in the Onsen together.

"Ah, here comes your wife!" the old lady announced as Rukia stumbled into the hall.

Byakuya turned his attention to Rukia. Their eyes met for a brief second before the both of them turned away uncomfortably.

The old lady seemed to have noticed the awkwardness between them as she asked, "Are the two of you okay?"

There was no answer from the both of them and the old lady continued.

"You both are married, right?" she asked, this time slightly suspicious.

Realising that their cover might be blown soon, Byakuya quickly put an arm around Rukia's shoulders.

"My wife and I prefer to take things slow. Therefore, what happened just now was quite a shock for her." explained Byakuya.

The frown on the old lady disappeared and she smiled at Rukia kindly. "I see. You wouldn't want to keep him waiting, dear. Your husband is a good man for being so understanding towards you. And there will be many other girls who will want a good man like him."

Rukia's face turned red as she struggled for an answer. "W-Well, y-yes, I know."

Holding Rukia's hand in his, Byakuya then steered Rukia towards the stairs. "We shall retire for the night now. Goodnight." he called out to the old lady.

* * *

Rukia felt light headed as Byakuya held her hand as they walked up the stairs. She was still in a daze and she was thankful that he was leading the way as she could not even focus on walking right now. Her mind kept replaying the scene of what happened just a few moments ago. Had her Nii-sama seen everything? Well, she had her eyes glued to his chest after spotting a naked man and didn't dare to look any lower.

Rukia bit her lip nervously as she finally looked up. Byakuya had led them back to their room and had let go of her hand. His back was facing her and Rukia could not decide if she should talk to him.

After a moment of silence, Rukia finally decided to break the silence. "Nii-sama, I apologise for just now. I honestly didn't know you were in there. The lady did not inform me. I thought there wasn't anyone else."

"It is not your fault, Rukia. This could happen to anybody." replied Byakuya, his back still facing Rukia.

Rukia gulped. Is Byakuya angry? She couldn't tell since she could not see his face. But who wouldn't get angry if they were in Byakuya's shoes? Rukia knew that Byakuya is a very private person so he must definitely be mad.

Rukia cleared her throat nervously. "My leg is fine now, so I think I should make my way back to the hotel now, Nii-sama. You can rest here and go back in the morning."

Rukia was about to turn and make her way out of the room when she felt a hand enclosed around her wrist. She turned back in surprise to see Byakuya staring down at her.

"Stay, Rukia. It is late. We shall return back tomorrow."

Rukia could feel the heat creeping back to her cheeks as her mind brought her back to the Onsen when Byakuya had grabbed her from falling and her towel had slipped down.

Seeing the look on Rukia's face, Byakuya let go of her hand suddenly as he cleared his throat, his eyes avoiding hers.

"Go to sleep, Rukia. I will come back for you in the morning." Byakuya said finally.

"W-Where are you going, Nii-sama?"

Byakuya walked towards the door. "I will be taking a walk nearby."

Rukia frowned. "Aren't you going to sleep, Nii-sama?"

"I will be fine. Good night, Rukia."

And with that, Byakuya had closed the door behind him leaving Rukia alone in the room.

Rukia placed a hand over her chest hoping to calm her racing heart down. She crawled into bed and fell into a deep slumber very soon after.

* * *

The leaves crunched beneath his feet as Byakuya strolled around aimlessly outside the guesthouse. He knew that coming to the real world with Rukia would be a mistake. He could still avoid facing Rukia in soul society with his busy schedule or he could just coop inside his office doing paperwork but there was no way he could have avoided Rukia here.

Byakuya sighed in frustration. It was only Tuesday and it had already gone off with a bad start. Why did he have to see Rukia naked? Now, that image would never leave his brain ever again. It would be so much harder to control his feelings for her after tonight. Byakuya did not want to destroy the relationship that he and Rukia had finally shared. Ever since Rukia had first stepped into the Kuchiki household, Byakuya had been ignoring her and he did not enjoy Rukia's company. It reminded him of Hisana and it still hurt him a lot. But things had been improving slowly after he took the blow for Rukia from Ichimaru Gin.

They started talking and Byakuya had felt himself growing more and more comfortable towards Rukia. And very soon after, Byakuya found himself getting too comfortable around Rukia. He gradually enjoyed her presence; he looked forward to have dinner in the manor everyday with her, he enjoyed listening to her talk about her day and had smiled when she attempted to make a joke once. It was happening too fast for Byakuya and suddenly he realised what he was falling into. His heart prickled with guilt when he visited Hisana's shrine every night. Therefore, Byakuya had decided to avoid Rukia in hope of making his feelings for her disappear.

Byakuya sighed mentally for the umpteenth time that day as he wondered how the week can go any worse.

* * *

The first ray of sunlight shone through the windows as Rukia cracked her eyes open. The first thought that entered her head was 'Nii-sama saw me naked last night!" and she quickly clamped her eyes shut again and groaned. Rukia banged her fist against the soft covers of the bed and then opened her eyes again. Byakuya had acted as though the whole incident had not affected him at all so Rukia decided that she should do the same as well. That's right. As long as she pretend that it didn't bother her at all, then the awkwardness and embarrassment will soon all go away.

Rukia went into the bathroom, cleaned herself up before heading downstairs. She then spotted Byakuya sitting on a chair, head bent over the table frowning at a map.

"Good morning, Nii-sama." greeted Rukia as she stood before him looking at the map he was holding onto.

Byakuya looked up, replied Rukia with a "Hnn" before returning his attention to the map.

"Have the old lady told you the directions, Nii-sama?"

Byakuya nodded. "I have marked them out with a marker. We can set off after our breakfast."

A few minutes later, the old lady's husband arrived with a tray loaded with food in his hands. He set the tray down in front of them and smiled at Rukia. "Good morning, your husband had been up early and had been waiting for you ever since."

Rukia shot a surprise look at the old man just as Byakuya looked up from the map. "I had not been waiting for her. I was studying the map." he explained.

The old man laughed. "Don't need to be shy, young man. I saw you glancing at the clock several times and then pacing outside your room."

Byakuya seemed to be at a loss for words and he quickly cleared his throat. "I was not waiting for her."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." chuckled the old man as he winked at Rukia before walking away.

Rukia stared at Byakuya as he ignored her while starting to eat. Had he been really waiting for her to have breakfast? He could have actually woke her up. Or he could have just eaten first. Unknowingly, Rukia felt her heart gave a tiny flutter as she continued staring at Byakuya.

Feeling slightly annoyed with Rukia's stare, Byakuya finally looked up. "Are you going to eat your breakfast, Rukia? Or will staring at my face make you full?"

Rukia blushed and she quickly picked up her chopsticks.

* * *

It was almost eight-thirty as Byakuya and Rukia bid goodbye to the old couple.

"Goodbye dears, I hope to see you again next year!" said the old lady as she waved.

Rukia gave a weak smile and waved back as they stepped out of the guesthouse. The trip back to their hotel seemed quick as neither of them said a word as they concentrated on walking back as fast as they can with Byakuya leading the way.

They soon arrived back at the beach where Rukia had spotted a few of her fellow shinigamis scattered around the beach.

"Oi, Rukia!"

Rukia heard the voice of Ichigo as she turned around. The orange haired shinigami jogged towards her, followed by Renji.

"Where have you been last night? We were so worried about you." chided Ichigo.

Renji looked from Rukia to Byakuya and then back to Rukia again. "Have you been with Taichou?"

"We were playing the game when we got lost. We couldn't find our way back here so we had to stay in a guesthouse." explained Rukia.

"Oh, okay. As long as you're with Taichou, you should be safe." replied Renji. "Anyway, guess what all of us are doing for tonight?"

"What?"

Renji gave a wide smile. "We're all taking a dip in the Onsen! There's one just behind our hotel and all of us thought that it would be a good idea."

"O-Onsen?" spluttered Rukia.

Ichigo frowned at her. "What's wrong, Rukia? You look like you caught a fever."

"No no, I'm fine. No fever." Rukia said hastily as she noticed Byakuya's eyes on her.

Renji shrugged. "So anyway, you'd be joining in tonight, right, Rukia?"

Rukia tried her best to look apologetic. "I'm sorry. I don't feel like it."

"Aw, come on. You don't have to worry, if any guys were to goggle at you, I will chase them off." Renji said.

Ichigo raised his eyebrows immediately. "And how will you know if any guys were to goggle at her? Girls and guys have separate Onsens, you know."

"Separate Onsens?" repeated Renji. "I-I thought, you know, we would all be together and…"

"And what?" asked Ichigo, rolling his eyes. "You'd be able to see all the girls naked?"

Renji glared at Ichigo but before he could retort, Ichigo continued. "And Byakuya wouldn't spare anyone who even looks at Rukia for even longer than a second. If she's naked of course."

Rukia stared at the two boys furiously. How could they talk about this in front of her Nii-sama? She didn't dare to look at Byakuya as her face burned with embarrassment.

The sudden voice of Byakuya interrupted the two boys at once. "One more word from the both of you and be prepared to face my bankai."

Renji's eyes turned wide as saucers as he quickly grabbed Ichigo by the arm and dragged him away.

"I-I'm sorry, Nii-sama. They were behaving rather inappropriately." apologized Rukia.

"Do they always talk about you this way?" asked Byakuya, his gaze distant.

Rukia quickly shook her head. "They're just joking, Nii-sama."

Byakuya gave a brief nod, turned his back to Rukia and began walking back to the hotel.

* * *

The sky had turned from a deep orange to an inky black as Rukia made her way to the lifts from the hotel's cafe. She had not seen Byakuya anywhere after they had separated ways at the beach that morning.

"Kuchiki-san, are you sure you're not joining us at the Onsen?" asked Orihime as she walked beside Rukia.

Rukia smiled. "I am pretty tired so I guess I'd be resting in my room. Have fun though!"

"W-Well, okay… But do feel free to come join us when you feel like it, okay?" said Orihime brightly.

Rukia nodded as both girls took the elevator up to their respective rooms. As the elevator opened its doors at the 13th floor, Rukia bade Orihime goodnight and stepped out. The elevator doors closed behind Rukia with a ding as she made her way back to her room.

Room 218… 217… and then there was room 216. Rukia's legs halt to a stop as she stared at the door. Should she knock to check if her Byakuya is inside? Rukia was getting a little worried. Is her Nii-sama alright? Should she knock to check on him?

Rukia curled her fingers into a fist and was about to knock against the door when the door of 216 suddenly opened. Rukia's fist hung in mid air as she looked up, surprised.

"Rukia, what are you doing outside my door?" asked Byakuya, as he stared at her.

Rukia quickly let her fist drop to her side. "O-Oh, I was just about to check on Nii-sama. I was worried. I haven't seen you since this morning."

"I had been doing some paperwork, Rukia." replied Byakuya simply.

Of course. Byakuya must have been busy. Suddenly feeling quite foolish, Rukia mentally chided herself for being so stupid. Of course Byakuya would be okay. He was a grown man and a captain at that. What could have happened to him? Rukia cursed at her own stupidity resisting the urge to whack herself on the head.

"Well, sorry for intruding, Nii-sama. I'll be getting back to my room now." Rukia said hastily as she quickly made her way back to her room.

* * *

A clap of thunder jolted Rukia out of her sleep and she glanced at the digital clock beside her bed. The glowing lights showed that it was 3.04 a.m and Rukia gave a yawn. She had been asleep after watching a few movies on her bed. Rukia closed her eyes and snuggled into the pillow but before she could fall asleep, she heard an eerie music coming from outside the window.

Rukia's eyes snapped open immediately as she sat up. What was that? The music is still playing and it resembled a flute. Rukia frowned as she walked to her door and opened it. Is someone playing a flute? Rukia stepped outside her room and looked around. There wasn't anyone in sight. Rukia was about to head back to her room just when she heard a voice calling out to her.

* * *

Byakuya tossed and turned in bed as the wind howled outside. He could not sleep. Thoughts of Rukia were invading his mind and as much as he tried to close his eyes, hoping that sleep would overtake him soon, it could not work. Byakuya sighed as he got up from the bed and sat in front of the table. Since he couldn't sleep, might as well use the time to catch up on some paperwork.

The only sounds that could be heard were the rustling of his papers and the howling of the wind outside his window. Every now and then, a distant rumble of thunder could be heard as the trees outside swayed along with the strong wind.

And then, Byakuya heard it. Someone playing a flute. It sounded as though it came from outside. Frowning, Byakuya put his brush down and walked towards the window. He did not catch sight of anyone at all. Hearing footsteps outside his door, Byakuya then opened his door to see the familiar back of Rukia.

He called out to her immediately. "Rukia?"

Startled, Rukia whirled around in surpise, her violet orbs staring into Byakuya's grey eyes. After realising that it was just Byakuya, she sighed with relief.

"You scared me, Nii-sama."

Byakuya did not seem to have heard her as he said. "Did you hear that too, Rukia?"

Rukia nodded. "Yes, do you think…?"

"It is, Rukia. Stay here and let me deal with this hollow." commanded Byakuya as he popped a Gikongan (Soul Candy) into his mouth. Byakuya then emerged in his captain's uniform with his katana.

Feeling that she cannot just sit and wait around for Byakuya, Rukia then said, "Let me go with you, Nii-sama!"

Byakuya did not refuse so Rukia quickly popped a Gikongan into her mouth as her shinigami self soon emerged too, alongside Byakuya.

* * *

Big, fat raindrops started to fall as both Byakuya and Rukia shunpo-ed towards the eerie music. Lightning flashed across the sky as the music grew louder. They were flash stepping through the woods and the trees were growing thicker, making their pace slightly slower.

The sound of the flute stopped abruptly causing Byakuya and Rukia to stop too. They were near a clearing in the middle of the forest.

"It should be right in front, Rukia." said Byakuya as he withdrew Senbonzakura.

Rukia nodded and withdrew her own katana as well. The both of them advanced towards the clearing but to their surprise, there was no hideous hollow or creature of any sort standing there. In fact, Rukia noticed the outline of a woman sitting on a tree stump.

Both Byakuya and Rukia walked towards the figure, guarded. The woman's face gradually became clearer through the rain and fog. Recognising the woman's face, Rukia clapped a hand over mouth in surprise.

The woman's face… She looks exactly the same as Rukia. She was smiling at them, her head tilting to one side, her hand beckoning them towards her.

* * *

**A/N:** And this chapter will be a halloween treat from me to you all! Actually typing out the eerie music/flute part and this weird woman who looks strangely like Rukia just gave me the goosebumps as it's 3.14 a.m over here and it's deadly quiet. And while typing that part out, I head the meow of a cat which made me jump in my chair. I know, I scare easily. -_-

PARDON ME FOR CAPS LOCKING BUT I WANT YOUR ATTENTION HERE. THAT'S RIGHT, HEREEEE! I HAVE A QUESTION TO ASK. DOES ANYONE OUT THERE WANTS THIS STORY TO BECOME M-RATED? OR DO YOU GUYS PREFER IT TO REMAIN AS T-RATED? CUZ' IF MOST OF YOU PREFER IT TO BE AHEM *COUGH* M-RATED *COUGH COUGH*, I CAN DO THAT TOO. SO DROP ME A REVIEW TO LET ME KNOW? OH, AND IF YOU DON'T CARE IF IT'S M OR T, DON'T YOU THINK I STILL DESERVE TO GET A REVIEW AFTER FREAKING MYSELF OUT AT 3 IN THE MORNING?  
ANYWAY, HAVE A GREAT HALLOWEEN. XOXO.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Here's an early update for you guys cuz i'm so motivated by all your lovely reviews! See, more reviews = faster updates! Anyway, as you all can see, most of you guys have voted for M-rating so yea, I'd be changing to that (So i expect more reviews, alright! Haha! Just kidding! But I'm still hoping for that!). Hope you guys had a brilliant halloween like I did and here's your After-Halloween treat for being such lovely reviewers! Enjoy!

* * *

"N-Nii…" stuttered Rukia as she looked up at Byakuya.

He had gone completely still, but eyes still on the strange Rukia's look-a-like. Rukia stared at the woman once again. The woman has not spoken a word; she just kept smiling and smiling.

Rukia could notice the slight tension in Byakuya's eyes as he suddenly spoke. "Show your true self, hollow."

The woman did not reply but stood up suddenly, still smiling at them.

Rukia grabbed on to her katana tightly as she stared at the woman. It was terrifying to see someone who looks exactly like her and acting in such an eerie manner at that.

"W-Who are you?" asked Rukia, trying to keep her voice stable. "Why do you take the form of me?"

Again, the woman ignored Rukia. She had stopped waving but her gaze was fixed on Byakuya.

* * *

Byakuya stared at the woman in front of him. He knew that it was a hollow but to see it take the form of Rukia, he could not decide what he should do next. Should he wait for the hollow to reveal its true form before attacking it? Or should he just take it down? Byakuya knew that defeating this hollow would be a piece of cake but as soon as his hand started to grip onto his katana tightly, preparing to launch an attack, the woman would stare at him with that wistful expression.

He heard Rukia's question to that hollow and was curious himself. Why had the hollow taken Rukia's form? Several minutes had passed and neither of the three spoke a word. Feeling slightly annoyed with himself for not ending this sooner, Byakuya shunpo-ed towards the hollow, katana in hand.

As his katana was about to make contact with the woman's heart, Byakuya then heard the woman shout, "Nii-sama!"

And that was when Byakuya froze. The katana was just an inch away from her heart and Byakuya knew that piercing right through it would end everything. But when the woman had actually shouted to him in Rukia's voice, that was when Byakuya knew that killing this hollow will not exactly be an easy task.

Byakuya did not lower his katana but neither did he attack the woman. He stared hard into the woman's eyes. He could see sorrow, loneliness and was that… longing? Byakuya could not be certain.

"Nii-sama." The woman spoke again, eyes fixed on Byakuya. "Please don't kill me. It's me, Rukia."

Byakuya's eyes hardened. "What is your intention?"

The woman took a step back looking forlorn. "I have no intentions, Nii-sama. I just wanted to tell you… to tell you how lonely I have been these past few years. Though you have provided me with everything but… do you know how lonely I get in the manor all by myself? You have never cared for me and all I wanted was just some care and-"

"Stop!" shouted an angry voice behind Byakuya. "Stop right now! What are you?"

Byakuya had not even realised he had been hanging on to each and every word the woman had said. How did she know so much about Rukia? Is what she said true? It was only when he heard the shout of Rukia behind him that made him snap out of his trance.

* * *

Rukia could not believe her ears. This _thing _not only had taken her form but apparently had stolen her thoughts as well. Rukia could not believe it. Those were her innermost feelings that she had never talked to anyone about it. Not Renji, not even to Ichigo. And now, her look-a-like was spilling everything out. And what was worse, she was spilling it all to her Nii-sama.

Feeling herself shake with fury, Rukia shouted, "Stop! Stop right now! What are you?"

The woman stopped and looked over at Rukia smiling. "I know what you're thinking of, Kuchiki Rukia. One look and I can see your thoughts, memories and every single detail of your life."

Rukia's grip on her katana was so strong that she did not realise her knuckles were turning white. She was so furious at the woman who had just spilled out her innermost feelings so casually. Rukia knew that Byakuya might not even believe what the woman had said but to Rukia, she felt as though it was the first time she had felt so exposed.

"Nii-sama, let me fight this hollow." said Rukia seething with anger as she continued staring at the woman.

Rukia could see from the corner of her eye that Byakuya had hesitated for a moment before withdrawing his katana and nodded.

Once Byakuya's katana had been lowered, Rukia wasted no time. Flash stepping towards the woman, Rukia fought with pure rage and fury; a feeling she had not felt in a long time.

* * *

Byakuya watched as the Rukia look-a-like had withdrawn her own katana as well. The clashing of their katanas soon filled the surroundings as he watched the both of them engaging in a furious battle, mid-air. Byakuya had never seen Rukia fight like this. She was fighting with such rage and anger that Byakuya had never thought Rukia would possessed.

The wind continued to howl as the two women continued exchanging blows. Byakuya frowned and concentrated on their fight. It seemed that the hollow was not weak. She seemed to easily dodge Rukia's attacks but for Rukia, it seemed as though she was having a hard time keeping up.

Byakuya's eyes widened suddenly as he noticed the woman flash stepping in great speed behind Rukia, her katana ready to thrust it right into Rukia. Byakuya knew that Rukia would not have wanted his help but he cannot imagine standing by and watch Rukia get injured in front of his eyes. So in that moment, Byakuya had flash stepped as quickly as he can, grabbed Rukia around her waist to dodge the attack.

* * *

Rukia could feel sweat trickling down her back as she glanced frantically around. In that split second, the woman had disappeared right in front of her. Just before Rukia could turn around, she felt an arm around her waist and she quickly looked up to see Byakuya holding on to her tightly.

Rukia felt Byakuya flash step to the ground as he put her down on her feet gently.

"Nii-sama, you shouldn't have-"

"You could have got hurt." cut in Byakuya.

The woman shunpo-ed right in front of them, this time no longer smiling. "My my, it seemed as though this is not the first time that Nii-sama had saved you, isn't it?"

"I am not your Nii-sama." Byakuya's firm voice replied.

The woman turned to Byakuya and laughed. "Aren't you a sensitive one, _Byakuya_ _Nii-sama_."

Rukia shivered as she heard the look-a-like deliberately emphasising on the last part. She looked at Byakuya but could not decide on how he was feeling. Probably indifferent as usual?

"Ah, I wish I could impersonate you, Byakuya Nii-sama. Wouldn't it be fun if I could use your powers to battle against you? But you are too complicated to read through." The hollow continued. "But little Rukia here is just so easy to read. Plus I found something interesting as well…"

Byakuya did not reply and neither did Rukia so the hollow continued. "It seemed as though Nii-sama is afraid to attack me, isn't it? Me, in the form of Rukia. Isn't that right, Nii-sama?"

Rukia's eyes turned wide as she turned her gaze from the hollow to Byakuya. She noticed the expression in his eyes hardened as he gripped onto his katana.

"She is my sister." She heard Byakuya reply before a moment of hesitation.

The Rukia look-a-like laughed as though his reply had truly amused her. "Is she really? Or rather, do you really treat her as one?"

Rukia could almost swear she saw Byakuya flinch but if he really did, he seemed to have regained his composure fast.

"Enough talk." Byakuya said finally. "This time, I will spare no mercy."

Rukia watched as Byakuya withdrew Senbonzakura. The fight did not last long. The hollow managed to dodge the first few attacks from Byakuya but very soon, Senbonzakura had caught up with her and managed to plunge through her heart.

The hollow had reverted back to its hollow form after shredding Rukia's appearance before dissolving into the wind.

Byakuya stood beside Rukia as they watched the remains of the hollow disapper. The rain seemed to pour harder than ever and the both of them were soaked to the bones. Rukia gave a sneeze and she looked up to see Byakuya removing his captain's haori to drape it on her shoulders.

"T-Thank you, Nii-sama." said Rukia as she clutched on to his haori, breathing in the familiar scent of cherry blossoms.

Byakuya nodded. "We should head back."

Rukia nodded as the both of them flash stepped back to the hotel.

* * *

Rukia sighed as she buried her face into the pillow. She had just taken a warm shower and she felt as though her whole body was being pricked by needles. Her muscles ached badly and she quickly tumbled gratefully into bed.

Rukia could not stop her mind from replaying what the hollow had said; the part where she had asked Byakuya if he had really treated her as a sister. Did the hollow mean that Byakuya had treated her badly by neglecting her? Before Rukia could try to interpret what the hollow had meant, she began to feel the tiredness kicking in and begin to feel her muscles relax as she closed her eyes.

It wasn't before long when Rukia heard a frantic knocking on her door. She tried to ignore it and attempted to use the pillow to muffle out the sound but it was useless. The knocking grew loud and impatient and Rukia gave a groan as she forced herself out of the bed. Rukia trudged to the door and opened it.

"Oh, Kuchiki-san, I'm glad you're awake!" a ditzy Orihime said thankfully. "I was so scared."

Rukia's eyes snapped to attention immediately. "What happened? Is there another hollow or something?"

"Hollow? No no, don't worry! There isn't any! It's just that… that…" Orihime trailed off as she stared at Rukia sheepishly.

Rukia frowned in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Orihime gave a nervous laugh. "W-Well, I think there's a ghost in my room."

Rukia stared at the orange haired girl in amazement. Is this girl for real? She isn't afraid of hollows yet she is terrified of _ghosts_?

"And you are afraid of them?" asked Rukia.

Orihime rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Well, they _are_ scary. Those white sheets floating around…"

Rukia blinked.

"So could I stay with you for the night, Kuchiki-san? I promise I'll request for a change of room tomorrow morning. Please?" Orihime begged.

"I guess it should be fine." Rukia said finally as she led the girl in.

Rukia stared at the ceiling as she listened to Orihime mumbling in her sleep. She let out a sigh as she turned her head to look at her friend sleeping away. After waking up by Orihime, Rukia could not get back to sleep anymore. And whenever she closed her eyes in hope of getting back to sleep, she will suddenly be awakened by Orihime's sleep talk.

Rukia sighed loudly again as she continued to stare at the peach coloured ceiling.

* * *

Byakuya took the dry towel from the bathroom rack and draped it across his shoulder as he stepped out of the bathroom in his black cotton pants. The rain outside continued to fall as he stared at the gloomy sky. Byakuya wasn't one to express how he feels and he even avoid trying to develop any sort of feelings towards anything or anyone. But if he were to be forced to describe how he feels now, he would say it would be very similar to the sky he is staring at.

As he ran the towel through his damp hair, Byakuya's gaze hardened as his thoughts brought him back to what the hollow had said in front of Rukia. Byakuya knew he had flinched when he heard what the hollow said and hoped that Rukia had not notice it. He did not expect that the hollow would be able to see through that as well and that comment had caught him off-guard. Taking a swig of water from the bottle on the counter, Byakuya then heard a knock on his door.

Wondering who could be knocking on his door at close to 5 a.m, Byakuya made his way to the door and opened it.

* * *

"Is anything the matter?" asked Byakuya as he opened the door.

Rukia stared at her Nii-sama, her mouth slightly agape. Byakuya was half naked, only in his black cotton pants. Rukia was then reminded of the morning when she had woken up to find her Nii-sama's chest in front of her face. It was a bad idea to knock on her Nii-sama's door after all. All she wanted was some sleeping pills and here she was, facing that very toned chest of Byakuyas' again.

"Stupid… I knew it was a stupid idea…" mumbled Rukia to herself in frustration.

"Rukia, is anything the matter?" she heard Byakuya repeat and quickly snapped her head up to attention.

"O-Oh, um… I actually wanted to um… um…"

Rukia could feel Byakuya's curious stare on her and she quickly cleared her throat feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Sleeping pills!" blurted out Rukia.

"What about sleeping pills?" asked Byakuya. "Do you need some sleeping pills?"

Rukia nodded furiously. "Yes, that's right! I need sleeping pills. Do you have any, Nii-sama?"

Byakuya shook his head and Rukia groaned in dismay.

"Why do you need sleeping pills?"

Rukia sighed. "I can't sleep with Inoue's sleep talk in my room."

Rukia noticed Byakuya's slightly amused expression as he asked. "And why is she in your room instead of hers?"

"Well, she was saying something about ghosts in her room so I agreed to let her crash in my room for the night." explained Rukia.

Byakuya did not reply so Rukia continued. "I'm sorry to disturb your rest, Nii-sama. I should take my leave now."

"Hold on a second, Rukia." Byakuya suddenly said. "Where are you going?"

Slightly surprised by Byakuya, Rukia turned around. "I think I'll just head to the shop and see if I could get any drowsy medicine or sleeping pills to help me sleep."

"Let me go with you. It is not safe for you to go alone. It is still dark outside." said Byakuya.

"It's okay, Nii-sama. The shop is quite near the hotel." replied Rukia hurriedly. "You should get some rest."

"Just give me a minute, Rukia. I will get changed." Byakuya said firmly, leaving no room for further argument as he walked to the closet, grabbed a white dress shirt and black pants and went into the bathroom.

Rukia stared at the bathroom door feeling slightly taken aback. It feels strange to have her Nii-sama so protective of her. Rukia knew Byakuya had always been protective of her but she had not expected this. She knew that if she was in any trouble, she could always count on Byakuya to save her in the nick of time. Rukia knew that the way she was thinking was being too dependent on Byakuya but she also knew that it was the truth. Rukia had lost count of how many times Byakuya had always saved her.

Rukia felt strange but on the other hand, it also feels good. Actually, it feels better than good. She actually feels quite comforted, protected and… loved. Hold on a second. Love? _Love? _Rukia pinched her arm as she quickly shook her head. What in the world was she thinking? No, not love. Definitely not love. She must be being stupid, she decided.

Rukia let out a soft hollow laugh. She couldn't believe the word love had actually crossed her mind. Even if it is love, it would be nothing near romance. It would be more of sibling love. That's right. It is definitely sibling love. Feeling slightly better after convincing herself otherwise, Rukia plastered a smile on her face, trying to chase away the horrible feeling that is starting to nestle in the corner of her heart.

* * *

Byakuya buttoned his shirt as he looked at the man staring back at him in the mirror. He frowned at his own reflection. He did not know what had made him suggest accompanying Rukia to the store at this time. Byakuya was feeling rather tired but he felt uncomfortable when he heard that Rukia was going to the store alone while it was still dark and rainy outside. He knew that Rukia could protect herself in the real world but he just did not like taking the risk. What if she had bumped into a hollow that she could not handle by herself? Better to be safe than sorry. He would not allow Rukia to get hurt in any way anymore.

So many times he had thankfully made it in time to save Rukia. And every time he still had the chills on what would happen if he were to arrive any minute later. Byakuya did not like the feeling at all. And well, he had a car so he could drive Rukia over. He couldn't possibly let her run in the rain. That would just be… inhumane.

Finally done with changing, he opened the door of the bathroom and walked out of his hotel room. Rukia was pacing back and forth while muttering under her breath. She did not even notice his presence until he spoke.

"We can go now, Rukia."

Rukia looked up startled but nodded her head as she followed close behind him to the lift. The lift doors closed in front of them and Byakuya jabbed the B1 button as the lift descended.

"Aren't we going to the 1st floor, Nii-sama?" asked Rukia.

"We are heading to the car park. My car is there." replied Byakuya as he stared straight ahead.

"I didn't know Nii-sama owns a car here!" exclaimed Rukia. "You know how to drive, Nii-sama?"

Byakuya gave a curt nod as Rukia continued to stare at him in amazement. The lift gave a gentle jerk as it opened its door at the basement and the both of them walked out.

Byakuya led Rukia to his black Porsche and he opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. Rukia was soon seated beside him as her busy eyes begin exploring the car.

Amused by her child-like behaviour, Byakuya bit back a smile as he started up the car and moved out of the parking lot smoothly.

* * *

"Where is the shop, Rukia?" Byakuya asked. "And are you sure it is open?"

Rukia peered through the window. "It's a 24 hours convenience store, Nii-sama. I think it should be down this street."

Byakuya brought the Porsche to a stop as he looked at where Rukia is pointing at. Byakuya could see the bright lights of the shop but there was no road where he could drive up to drop Rukia in front of the shop. Rukia would have to walk in and the distance was not short.

Rukia seemed to have heard his thoughts as she said. "It's alright, Nii-sama. I could run in from here."

She opened the door of the Porsche but quickly shut it again with a yelp of surprise as a strong gust of cold wind hit her with heavy rain splattering in.

"We should wait for the rain to subside." Byakuya said as he drove to the nearest parking lot and parked his car.

"I'm so sorry, Nii-sama. We can just head back now if you're tired." apologised Rukia. "You haven't slept since yesterday."

"I will be fine, Rukia." replied Byakuya as he switched off the air con.

* * *

Rukia rubbed her hands together to keep her hands warm as she looked at her watch. It had been 15 minutes since anyone had spoken and she was getting quite bored. She sneaked a glance at Byakuya to see him staring listlessly out of the window.

Feeling slightly bored, Rukia turned to her side and cupped her hands to the side of her mouth and blew a few puffs of hot breath onto the car window. She looked at how her hot breath had fogged up the glass and then used a finger and started drawing a very childish looking rabbit.

"What are you doing?" she suddenly heard Byakuya ask.

Rukia turned around and laughed sheepishly. "I was bored so I decided to draw."

"Draw?"

Rukia nodded as she showed Byakuya what she had been doing a few seconds before. Expecting Byakuya to nod and turn back to staring out of the window, Rukia's eyes widened in surprise as Byakuya suddenly turned to his side of the window and started mimicking what Rukia had done.

"Nii-sama, what are you going to draw?" asked Rukia as she stared at Byakuya.

"The seaweed ambassador." replied Byakuya.

Rukia gaped in silent awe as Byakuya finished with his finger drawing. "That's really pretty, Nii-sama."

Byakuya turned away from his drawing to look at Rukia. "You think so, Rukia?"

Rukia smiled as she nodded happily. "Nii-sama, maybe when you're free, we can draw together! I didn't know you had such a talent in drawing!"

Byakuya gave a tiny smile as he nodded. "Maybe we should do that sometime."

This time when Byakuya had smiled, Rukia did not react strongly but instead, returned his smile with a grin. Rukia was starting to grow comfortable around Byakuya and she was starting to feel greedy. Now, Rukia wanted to see her Nii-sama smile more often as she felt that it made her Nii-sama look less scary.

The rain had suddenly subsided to a drizzle as Rukia noticed that the loud pitter-pattering of the rain was gone.

"I think I can go get the medicine now. Do you want to come along, Nii-sama?" Rukia asked as she opened the door.

Byakuya nodded as he got out of the car as well. Rukia walked alongside Byakuya as they made their way to the sleepy looking shop.

As they walked into the shop, Rukia's eyes caught sight of the row of sleeping pills that were situated near the cashier and she hurriedly picked up a box of them. Fishing out some notes, she thrust it towards the cashier who seemed to be nodding off.

The cashier gave a yawn as she returned Rukia her change and put her hands under her head for support.

"Let's go, Nii-sama." said Rukia as she walked towards the door.

"Hold on, Rukia." Byakuya said suddenly and then turned to an odd looking machine. "What is this?"

Rukia peered at the machine before realising what it is. "Oh, it's a capsule machine, Nii-sama. You drop a coin in, turn it and something will pop out of this flap here."

Byakuya continued to stare at the capsule machine as though it was a rather complex thing. Rukia tried to smother her laughter as she stared at Byakuya's expression.

"Why don't you give it a go?" urged Rukia as she handed Byakuya a coin.

Byakuya gazed at the coin doubtfully before taking it and slotting it into the machine's coin slot. He gave the machine a turn and gazed in amazement as a capsule rolled out of the flap and into his awaiting hand.

"This is it?" Byakuya asked.

Rukia giggled. "Well, you have to open this ball up to see what's inside! Go on and open it, Nii-sama!"

Byakuya then pried the ball open and out fell a piece of pink hair clip. Byakuya frowned at it and handed it to Rukia.

"This is of no use to me. You can have it, Rukia."

Rukia smiled as she tucked the hair clip into her pocket. "That's all to it, Nii-sama. Isn't it fun?"

"Do you like this machine, Rukia?" asked Byakuya.

Rukia nodded happily as she gave the capsule machine a pat. "Of course, Nii-sama! I like how it always surprises the person as nobody knows what to expect in the next capsule that is going to roll out."

Byakuya nodded as he gave the machine a thoughtful glance.

"We should go now, Nii-sama. It's 6.30 a.m already!" announced Rukia in shock as she stared at her watch in disbelief.

Rukia then trooped out of the shop with Byakuya as they hurried towards the car. As soon as they got into the car, Byakuya sped off towards the hotel as the drizzle slowly stopped.

* * *

"Hold on a second, Nii-sama!" Rukia cried out excitedly suddenly as they drove by the beach and Byakuya immediately brought the Porsche to a stop.

"Look, the sunrise!" chirped Rukia happily as she gazed at the sky that was slowly lighting up.

"Do you want to watch the sunrise before heading back?" asked Byakuya.

Rukia looked hopeful as she turned to look at Byakuya, her eyes bright. "Can we?"

Byakuya shrugged. "There should be no problem with that."

Rukia smiled at Byakuya as he parked the car by the beach. "I haven't seen the sunrise like this for a really long time."

Byakuya turned to look at her. "Me too, Rukia."

Rukia stared at her Nii-sama as he unlocked the door and stepped out of the car. Rukia followed suit and walked towards Byakuya, who was standing in front of the Porsche.

The both of them gazed at the sky in silence as the sun slowly rose up lighting up the dark sky in a few minutes.

"Should we head back-"

Rukia's sentence was cut off before she could finish as both of Byakuya's hands were on her shoulders suddenly. Rukia's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Byakuya's half lidded gaze, his head leaning closer and closer.

* * *

**A/N: **By the way, I will change the rating to M when I post up my next chapter so remember to pop by the M-rated section instead of the T-rated to look for this story! Or it would be easier to story alert. Hahaha. Either way. Just remember to continue reading, alright? Okay, time to review, people! See you in my next chapter! ^_^


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Merry Christmas, you all! I know it took quite a while for this update but I really did try my best at writing this smut. I think it would be a little bit more explicit than the ones in my previous story. I hope it will satisfy you guys. Well, it's up to you guys to decide. So read on, people!

* * *

"N-Nii-sama!" stuttered Rukia as Byakuya's head slowly leaned in, his eyes closed.

Rukia stared at him, flabbergasted and was about to take a step back when she suddenly felt Byakuya's forehead land on her shoulder.

There was a moment of silence as Byakuya continued to lean on Rukia's shoulder as her mouth hung wide open.

Finally registering what had just happened, Rukia quickly shut her mouth and looked down at her Nii-sama, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Nii-sama? A-Are you okay?" stammered Rukia, afraid that someone might be looking. To strangers, they might just look like a couple enjoying their time on the beach but if any of the shinigamis were to catch a sight of this, it will just look plain weird.

Byakuya did not reply but Rukia could hear his heavy breathing. It sounded hurried as though he was having quite a trouble to breathe.

Feeling slightly worried, Rukia put both her hands on Byakuya's shoulder to steady him and flinched at the contact.

"Nii-sama! You're burning! Are you sick?" asked Rukia worriedly as she held on to Byakuya. She could not see his expression nor did he utter a word. She was not sure if Byakuya had heard her or not but she continued anyway. "I'd better bring you back to your room, Nii-sama."

Thankful that the hotel was just a few steps away, Rukia wrapped one arm round Byakuya's waist while blushing terribly and slung his other arm on her shoulder as she made her way back to the hotel.

* * *

Rukia panted with exhaustion as she led Byakuya into the lift. It was not an easy task. First, she had to support her Nii-sama's weight. Secondly, she had to endure the weird looks she had gotten from the receptionists and the other hotel guests once she had stepped in. Thankfully, she had not run into any of the shinigamis.

Byakuya was leaning onto her shoulder again as she held on to him.

"Nii-sama, are you okay?" asked Rukia again. "I'm so sorry, Nii-sama. It's all my fault. You haven't slept and even had to fight in the rain."

This time, Byakuya seemed to have heard her as he slowly lifted his head from her shoulder and stared at her, his eyes hazy.

"Rukia," he said slowly. "I do not seem to be feeling very well. I will head back to my room to rest."

"But-"

The ping of the elevator interrupted Rukia as the door opened to reveal their floor.

Rukia watched as Byakuya walked slowly towards his room, as though every step needed a huge amount of strength for him.

"Please wait, Nii-sama!" cried out Rukia as she ran towards him and held onto his arm. "Let me assist you back to your room at least."

She does not understand why but when she saw how sick Byakuya is, her heart was racing with worry and fright. She had never seen her Nii-sama like this before. Byakuya had always seemed to be strong, collected and healthy. And this sight worried Rukia.

Rukia stared at Byakuya hopefully. He looked as though he was about to reject the offer but then finally gave a small nod.

Rukia returned him with a thankful smile as she walked with him back to his room. Once they had reached his door, Rukia frowned as she heard shouting and laughing coming from within his room.

Byakuya seemed slightly taken aback too but he quickly concealed it with a frown as he took his card key from his pocket and slid into the slot.

The door sprung open and Rukia gasped immediately. The room was a huge mess. Pizza slices were across the floor and several female shinigamis were having a whale of a time.

Rukia could feel Byakuya's reiatsu fluctuating and so did the female shinigamis as they turned around to look at him in horror.

The room turned deadly quiet as Byakuya stared at them with fury.

"K-Kuchiki Taichou, we didn't realise that you'd be back so quickly."Matsumoto stammered.

"We were about to leave, Kuchiki Taichou." Nemu said as she gave a slight bow, her face impassive as usual. "Thank you for letting us use your room for the shinigamis' women association club today."

"I had not agreed to it." replied Byakuya and Rukia flinched as she stared at Byakuya hoping that he will not be able to have the strength to murder anyone of them.

Yachiru bounded towards Byakuya, grinning. "Aw, come on, Bya-kun, don't be a spoilsport. Come have fun with us!"

Feeling as though her Nii-sama would soon unleash his fury on them, Rukia quickly cut in. "I think it's best if all of you leave now. Nii-sama isn't in the best of mood."

"Ah, alright then." replied Matsumoto as she gave an airy wave. "We've to catch up later, Rukia! Come on, let's move the party elsewhere!"

One by one, the female shinigamis left the room and Byakuya was still rooted to the spot as he stared at the mess in disdain.

"Nii-sama, why don't you take a rest while I clean up the mess?" asked Rukia meekly as she closed the door behind them.

Byakuya let out a sigh as he stumbled towards his bed and laid down on it. Rukia glanced at Byakuya worriedly as she started cleaning up the room.

* * *

It took Rukia almost an hour and the room is only looking slightly cleaner. Cursing the women's association club under her breath, her eyes drifted to a sleeping Byakuya on the bed and she walked up to him quietly. Rukia stared at Byakuya, enticed. It was her first time seeing her Nii-sama sleep. He seemed peaceful and the usual frown on his face was gone. He seemed almost vulnerable to Rukia.

Byakuya suddenly stirred in his sleep and Rukia leapt back in surprise. She held her breath as she stared at him to see if he had woken up. After a moment deciding that he was still asleep, Rukia breathed out a sigh of relief. She blushed as she thought of what if Byakuya had woken up to see her staring at him in that manner.

Rukia walked up to him gingerly again and reached out to touch his forehead. She quickly withdrew her hand as she felt his forehead burned. Rushing into the bathroom, Rukia grabbed a clean towel and placed it under the tap.

* * *

Byakuya felt something cool on his forehead as he slowly opened his eyes. His head throbbed and he didn't know how long he had slept. He reached up and took the wet piece of cloth that was on his forehead and sat up. He could hear Rukia muttering angrily to herself in the bathroom and the sound of the tap running could be heard as he gave a small smile.

Feeling terribly thirsty and dehydrated, Byakuya glanced around and spotted a glass of water on the nightstand. Trust Rukia to have thought of placing a glass of water for him to drink if he felt thirsty. He reached for it and downed it gratefully and felt the liquid slide down his throat. The glass was almost empty when Byakuya's eyes snapped to attention. The liquid he had been drinking had not tasted like water. Byakuya quickly put the glass down and stared at it. It tasted like… sake.

* * *

Rukia heard the clearing of throat and popped her head out of the bathroom to find Byakuya sitting on the bed.

"Are you feeling better, Nii-sama?" Rukia asked as she stepped out and walked towards him.

"Rukia, is this sake?" Byakuya asked, eyes still fixed on the glass of liquid.

Rukia picked up the glass and peered at it. "I should think so, Nii-sama. Since this is what Matsumoto and the rest left behind, I guess it is."

She heard Byakuya groan and looked up in alarm. "Are you hurt anywhere, Nii-sama? Is the fever getting worse?"

Byakuya shook his head and Rukia set the glass down.

"Let me know if you're feeling horrible, Nii-sama. Maybe I can ask Unohana Taichou for help." said Rukia as she picked up a pizza box on the floor.

"Do not ask anyone for help, Rukia. This is nothing. It will be over soon." replied Byakuya as he lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes.

Rukia watched as her Nii-sama drifted off to sleep again. She actually felt sorry for Byakuya sometimes. It seemed as though he was often lonely and he never had time to take a break. Rukia knew that Byakuya would never dream of casting his responsibilities as a captain and the head of the Kuchiki family just to take a break. Rukia wondered what had been going on in Byakuya's head all this while. He never had friends to talk to, or rather, he refuse to talk to anyone about anything personal.

Rukia sighed. Byakuya finally had a chance to take a break from his stressful life in Soul Society and she had ruined it for him. It was all her fault. If only she had let Byakuya sleep in the room in the guesthouse. If only she was strong enough to battle against the hollow by herself. It was always like this, Byakuya have always put her in priority.

Rukia stared at Byakuya and whispered. "Let me take care of you this time, Nii-sama."

* * *

Byakuya continued to sleep and Rukia picked up the cloth from the bed that was previously on Byakuya's forehead and walked to the bathroom. She ran the cloth with cold water and squeezed it dry. She folded the cloth and walked back to Byakuya and before placing it on his forehead, Rukia brushed his hair aside. Rukia felt the soft texture of his hair on her fingertips as she pushed them aside gently. It had never occurred to her that she would be able to feel how her Nii-sama's hair felt like. Finally, she placed the wet cloth on Byakuya's forehead and continued to clean up.

Rukia yawned and gave a stretch as she stared at the clock on the wall. It was almost 9.30 a.m. It had been half an hour since Byakuya had went back to sleep and she had just finished cleaning up the room. Reminding herself to give Matsumoto and the rest a severe scolding, Rukia dragged herself to the counter to get a drink.

Lifting the glass of water to her lips, Rukia suddenly froze as she felt someone brushing her hair aside from behind and something soft pressing against the back of her neck.

Startled, Rukia turned around preparing to attack but dropped her hands immediately as she came face to face with Byakuya. Rukia tried to move away but realised that she was trapped between the counter and Byakuya, whose hands were on both sides of her.

"N-Nii-sama?" she whispered as she stared uncertainly at Byakuya.

Byakuya did not reply her but instead, he pressed himself against Rukia, one hand encircling her waist as he brought his mouth to her neck and started kissing it slowly, his expression soft.

Rukia gave a cry of surprise as she brought her hand up to try to push Byakuya away but felt another of his hand grab her hand to stop her. Byakuya looked up, eyes clouded.

"Rukia…" he said slowly. "You are all I have… Please do not push me away."

Rukia's eyes widened. "W-What are you talking about, Nii-sama? Do you understand what you're… you're doing?"

Byakuya nodded and then leaned down as his lips met her neck again. Rukia could feel her heart banging wildly against her chest as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

"Nii-sama, you must be very sick. I don't think you know what you're doing." Rukia tried to reason but her tone turned out weak.

Byakuya's hand had let go of her wrist and now his hand was caressing Rukia's cheek tenderly. His gaze was so intense that Rukia blushed and turned her head to the side.

"Rukia, just for now, let us go with our instincts…" he murmured as his hand drifted to her chin and pulled her back to face him as he pressed his soft lips against hers.

Caught by surprise, Rukia gasped and Byakuya took the opportunity to delve his tongue into her mouth.

For a moment, Rukia panicked. She had never experienced anything like this before. Never with any other boys and not even with Ichigo. But Rukia wasn't stupid. She knew what this might lead to. She had seen scenes like this on TV, romance mangas and even heard it from Matsumoto. Rukia went still immediately as she felt Byakuya's tongue slowly exploring her mouth. She could feel Byakuya pressing himself into her as his hand continued to hold on to her waist to keep her from escaping. She let out a gasp for air as Byakuya suddenly broke the kiss.

"Nii-sama, Why… Why are you doing this?" stammered Rukia as she leaned away from Byakuya, feeling quite frightened.

Byakuya pulled her to him and whispered in her ear. "Because I have wanted you for so long, Rukia."

This time, Rukia didn't pull away as Byakuya hugged her closer to him. Had she heard him correctly? Byakuya, her Nii-sama, had wanted her? The familiar flutter of feeling came back to Rukia as Byakuya's words replayed in her mind. She is actually enjoying the feeling as Byakuya's hands wrapped around her protectively. Slowly but timidly, Rukia raised her hands and wrapped them around Byakuya's torso.

Byakuya who seemed to be pleased with Rukia's reaction, drew himself back and gave Rukia a lazy smirk which struck Rukia as to be very odd as he pulled Rukia towards the bed.

Rukia gasped as she felt the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed as she tumbled right onto it with Byakuya very soon, right on top of her.

"N-Nii-sama? Why are we doing this?" Rukia asked as she stared up at Byakuya, her eyes full of confusion.

Byakuya smiled. "It would be much more comfortable on the bed, Rukia."

Rukia's eyes widened. She was not ready for this! Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Rukia tried to wriggle away but suddenly felt one of Byakuya's strong hands clasping both of her wrists and pinned them over her head.

"Nii-sama, I... We..." stuttered Rukia but was cut off when Byakuya placed a finger on her lips.

"Just for tonight, Rukia. Just… Just go with the flow. I promise I will not hurt you." replied Byakuya as he withdrew his finger from her lips.

Rukia didn't know what to do but fell silent as Byakuya leant in and started nibbling her earlobe. Is this really Byakuya who is doing these things to her right now?

Rukia felt a gasp left her lips as she felt one of Byakuya's hands cup her behind as he gave it a tender squeeze.

"N-Nii-same, please…" whimpered Rukia as she tried to push Byakuya away again.

Acting as though he hadn't heard her, Byakuya started started kissing Rukia's neck as his hand left her bottom and slowly made its way to her breast.

Rukia inhaled as she felt Byakuya 's hand slowly cup the bottom swell of her breast and started massaging it.

Hearing no protest from Rukia, Byakuya continued his trail of kisses up to the side of Rukia's face and then her forehead, down to her nose and finally back to her mouth.

Feeling slightly warm, Rukia shifted uncomfortably beneath Byakuya as he suddenly bit her bottom lip which caused her to gasp. Taking the chance, Byakuya snaked his tongue into her mouth again as Rukia shuddered.

Rukia suddenly felt something warm on her belly and she gave a jerk of surprise. Glancing down frantically, she stared in horror as Byakuya's hand had crept underneath her shirt.

"N-Nii-sama…" protested Rukia as she tried again, to push him away.

Rukia then felt his hand suddenly on her naked breast, rolling her nipple using his fingertips. Rukia arched her back involuntarily as she heard herself let out a sensual moan.

She felt Byakuya's lips left hers and Rukia stared back at him, her face turning red as she quickly turned to the side.

"So you do like that, don't you, Rukia." She heard Byakuya speak. It felt more like a statement than a question and Rukia felt her face burn even more.

Byakuya finally released his grip onto Rukia's wrists and his other free hand slid up and down Rukia's thighs and then finally stopped at the waistband of her shorts.

Startled, Rukia gazed at him in alarm as her hand flew towards Byakuya's hand to stop him.

"Do not worry, Rukia." He said as he gazed at her. "I will be gentle. I promise."

As though in a trance, Rukia nodded slowly and felt her hand left Byakuyas'. Soon, she felt her shorts slip down her thighs and then finally she could see it lying on the floor right next to the bed.

She was now only in her shirt and panties and Rukia gave a slight shiver as she blushed. She stared at Byakuya who gave her a small smile as he suddenly touched the sensitive area in between her thighs.

Rukia gave a squeak of surprise and her hand quickly flew to cover her mouth. Feeling her panties being pushed to the side, Rukia felt Byakuya's fingers stroking her. She bit her fingers to keep herself from moaning out loud as his pace increased.

Panting, Rukia clutched on to the bedsheets as she groaned. It was such a foreign feeling to her. She didn't know why but she could feel a mixture of heat and pressure building up in the lower part of her abdomen.

"You are wet, Rukia." said Byakuya as he held up his fingers to show her the sticky mess that she had caused.

"I-I'm sorry, N-Nii-sama. I don't know… why…" stammered Rukia in between pants.

"There is no need for apologies, Rukia. This only goes to show how much you want me." replied Byakuya as he smirked.

Rukia's eyes widened. Is what he said true? Before she could think any further, she felt his fingers slowly probing her entrance and Rukia gave a gasp as she clutched onto Byakuya shoulders.

She gritted her teeth and clamped her eyes shut when she felt his fingers pushing into her.

"Does it hurt?" Byakuya asked.

Rukia gave a small nod as she breathed in and out hoping that the pain would go away. Almost half a minute passed when Rukia felt the pain subsiding and she heaved a sigh of relief.

Sensing that Rukia wasn't in pain any longer, Byakuya slowly pushed his fingers further in, as he looked at Rukia's face anxiously.

Feeling another wave of pain and panic, Rukia gripped onto his shoulders as she gave a small whimper.

"Shh, it will be alright, Rukia." whispered Byakuya as he leaned down and gave Rukia a kiss.

"It hurts, Nii-sama." Rukia replied, her voice pleading.

Byakuya smoothed her hair back. "I promise it will get better. You have to trust me, Rukia."

Rukia nodded again and she felt Byakuya's fingers withdrawing and she felt a sense of relief but it was barely a few seconds when she felt him pushing in again as she yelped in surprise.

Surprisingly, the pain wasn't as bad as the previous time. Rukia felt herself relax and she nodded at Byakuya to continue.

It had been barely five minutes and Rukia had found herself arching her back and moaning as Byakuya's fingers continued its assault on her. His mouth was on her breast now and Rukia felt herself grinding into Byakuya as her fingers scratched onto his naked back eagerly.

"Patience, Rukia." murmured Byakuya as his other hand held on to Rukia's back to support her.

Rukia groaned in frustration but as soon as she felt something beneath Byakuya's pants nudging her belly as though aching for release, Rukia's stomach began doing nervous back flips as she quickly turned her gaze away from Byakuya. Suddenly as though all her senses had returned, Rukia felt herself panicking again as she quickly turned away from Byakuya, feeling slightly horrified with herself for behaving in that manner. Does she really want this? She wasn't even sure herself.

Her gaze suddenly landed on the empty glass that was sitting on the nightstand. Feeling as though something wasn't quite right, Rukia placed both of her hands on Byakuya's chest and pushed him away gently. Byakuya stopped immediately and gave her a questioning look.

"Did you drink that?" asked Rukia as she continued to stare at the glass.

"Yes." replied Byakuya who sounded a little impatient.

Rukia quickly reached for the glass and lifted it to her nose. True enough, it smelled heavily of sake. Realization hit her as her face changed from confusion to horror as she set the glass down.

"What is the matter?" she heard Byakuya asked.

"N-Nii-sama, did you really drink this?" stammered Rukia as she quickly pushed him off her.

Byakuya nodded and Rukia's eyes widened even more.

"Oh no, oh no. I can't. This is wrong. It's all the sake's doing. W-We… I…" blabbered Rukia as she hopped out of bed and pulled on her clothes.

"Come back to bed, Rukia. Where are you going?" asked Byakuya as he frowned at her.

"I'm so sorry, Nii-sama. I truly am. I… You… It's the sake. I'm sorry. I…" without completing her sentence, Rukia fled out of the room as hot tears started forming in her eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** So what do you guys think? Was it too explicit or was it just nice? I almost died while writing this. It was so hard as I had to picture it and well, it really seemed as though I was watching some porno film or something. Thank god nobody can picture what I'm thinking if not... I don't even wanna think about it.

I know this was probably unexpected for some of you cuz you guys probably thought they would go all the way. But don't worry, THAT will happen but not now if not this story would be going too fast paced and all of them would seem rather OOC (which we all wouldn't want that, would we!). So please bear with me for a little while more, as I plan to make their first love-making session sake-free and guilt-free!

Anyway, have a brilliant christmas, everyone. And again, I would like to beg for forgiveness for this late chapter and since this is a season for forgiving, why don't you all be nice, sweet angels and type me a review too?


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** I guess this is considered a quick update from me? Well, I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter. I was contemplating if I should let it flow in this direction or not but decided that it has to if not it wouldn't link to what I had in mind for the later parts of the story. So if it gets a little boring, please please bear with it. I promise more action will come soon!

**Words to note:** Chawanmushi - An egg custard dish served in a small tea bowl.

* * *

Rukia didn't know how long she had been running. She was too mortified by what happened to even know where she was heading. All she knew was that she had to keep running as far away as possible from Byakuya.

Breathless, Rukia finally slowed down to a stop and wiped her tears away. She was thoroughly embarrassed. She had actually thought that Byakuya was in a clear state of mind and was actually… speaking the truth. But that was not the most embarrassing thing of all. Rukia's face burned in shame once again as she recalled how she had reacted to him. She had actually caved in and not only had she let him do those things to her, she had actually responded to him and had even encouraged him to continue. Rukia even thought that Byakuya had actually wanted her.

"_Because I have wanted you for so long, Rukia."_

Byakuya's voice rang loud and clear in Rukia's mind and she quickly shook her head, trying to get his voice off her head. Yes, it was this sentence that had led her to cave in. It was this sentence that she had actually thought that Byakuya had indeed been longing for her. Rukia didn't know whether she should laugh or cry at her own stupidity. She had actually thought that her Nii-sama had fallen for her. She thought that she had finally understood why Byakuya had always been overprotective of her; how he had always disliked the guys that she was close with. It all made perfect sense. And after the heavy kisses they shared, Rukia couldn't care less about the flimsy brother-sister relationship that they had shared because she had actually thought that another better relationship was going to happen between Byakuya and her. Right now, she only felt foolish and extremely embarrassed.

The sun was beating down as Rukia snapped out of her reverie and squint her eyes. She had not even realised she had ran out of the hotel and right to the beach.

Rukia groaned as her thoughts drifted back to Byakuya. Byakuya acted like this because of alcohol. What about her? She had no excuse at all. It was barely eleven in the morning and she had done something so outrageous. Something she knew that she would never forgive herself for the rest of her life. How is she going to face her Nii-sama after this? For a moment, Rukia stood quietly alone, closing her eyes as the sound of the wave crashing against the shore seemed to calm her down a little.

"Are you alright, Miss?"

Rukia suddenly heard someone asked as she jumped around in fright. A very handsome young man who looked slightly older than her looked at her in surprise as he took a step back.

Rukia quickly brushed the tears away from her eyes as the man continued. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you. You just looked really sad and I was wondering if you were fine."

Rukia quickly cleared her throat and gave a small smile. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

For a moment, the young man continued to stand there as Rukia shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I'm terribly sorry that I have disturbed you. I think I should go now." The man finally said as he gave a slight bow and smiled at Rukia.

Rukia frowned as she stared at him. His face… Where had she seen him before? That short brown hair and those eyes… And the refined manners…

The man was about to turn and leave when Rukia found herself saying, "Please hold on a minute!"

The man stopped immediately and cast Rukia a curious glance as she quickly tried to explain herself.

"Have we met?" asked Rukia. "I'm sorry but I think we may have met or something."

The man raised his eyebrows. "Are you hitting on me?"

Rukia's face turned a few shades of red immediately as she shook her head frantically. "N-No! Of course not! You just look really familiar."

The man gave a laugh as he stared at Rukia fondly. "You don't seem to have a very good memory, _Rukky-chan_."

Realization dawned on Rukia as her eyes widened. Rukky-chan… The only person who called her that was…

"Sato Tanako? Is that you?" Rukia asked as she stared at him, anxious and hopeful.

"Ah, now you remember, Rukky-chan. I was still afraid you have forgotten all about me." Tanako said as he beamed.

Rukia heaved a sigh of relief and finally broke into a smile. "Where have you been all this time? I have missed you!"

Tanako's face seems to darken for a second but before Rukia could be certain, he was smiling again. "Do you remember how we met, Rukky-chan?"

Rukia nodded happily. "Of course, it was the first summer after I've entered the Kuchiki house. The elders were holding a meeting one night with your parents and some other families. I saw you strolling around and attacked you thinking that you were a thief."

Tanako laughed. "Yes, and we started fighting until my parents and the Kuchiki elders came to stop us."

"Well, I got scolded after that for attacking you by the elders." said Rukia as she sniggered. "But we had so much fun after that when your parents decided to stay for a week in the Kuchiki manor."

Tanako smiled wistfully. "Yes, those were good times."

There was silence for a moment as Rukia stared at him. "Tanako, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead." replied the older boy.

Rukia looked away as she clasped her hands together nervously. "Why did you stop replying my letters?"

Tanako remained silent as he looked away, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Remember that after you left the Kuchiki manor, we wrote to each other but after my fourth letter, you did not reply." continued Rukia. "I thought you didn't receive it but I wrote the fifth letter and then the sixth and there was still no reply from you. What happened?"

Tanako sighed and finally turned to face Rukia. "It was such a long time ago, Rukia. Can we just forget about that? And the most important thing is that, I'm back now, aren't I?"

Rukia nodded slowly. "I guess you're right. No point dwelling in the past now."

Tanako smiled as he tousled Rukia's hair. "Join me for lunch and we shall talk some more, Rukky-chan."

* * *

Byakuya groaned as he raised his head from the bed. He frowned immediately as he quickly sat up. How long had he been asleep? And why was he sleeping on his front instead of on his back? Byakuya got out of bed and went to the counter to pour himself a drink.

As the water slid down his throat, his mind started coming back to focus and bits of images were forming in his mind. First there was Rukia, and then there was the image of them kissing… And then Byakuya remembered how he ran his hands all over Rukia and how he had behaved in such an inappropriate manner towards her. He remembered how she had stopped him and ran out of the room crying and how much he wanted to chase after her but did not as giddiness consumed him and he was knocked out once again which leads to… now.

Byakuya set the glass of water down as he banged his fist on the counter. What had made him act in that manner? His eyes roamed the room and finally settled on the empty glass sitting on the counter beside the bed. Yes, that's right. Rukia had mentioned sake. Byakuya walked towards the glass and picked it up. He lifted it to his nose and groaned. It had been sake, all right.

He had drunk the entire glass and that was why he had acted that way to Rukia earlier. A little part of Byakuya knew that this was not the entire truth. He had long wanted to run his hands all over Rukia; to kiss her like nothing else mattered anymore and to make sweet love to her. But the sake was the best excuse Byakuya could find for himself at the moment.

Byakuya took a quick shower as he headed out, hoping to find Rukia. He needed to explain things to her and to apologise for his behaviour.

It was not before long Byakuya found Rukia. She was sitting inside a café alone and Byakuya quickly entered the café. He was walking towards Rukia's table when a man suddenly walked past him and sat on the seat opposite Rukias'.

"Here, I've got us some omelette and chawanmushi." Byakuya heard the man said.

Byakuya frowned. Who is that man? And why was Rukia sitting with him?

Byakuya continued to look as Rukia clapped her hands in delight. "Ooh, you remembered!" she exclaimed happily.

The man gazed at Rukia fondly as he spoke. "Of course I remembered my Rukky-chan's favourite eggs."

Byakuya glared at the man. When did Rukia become this man's Rukky-chan? _His Rukky-chan_? Byakuya scoffed as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Rukia and the man continued chatting happily oblivious to anything or anyone around them and Byakuya felt a tinge of jealousy. They looked as though they were a couple enjoying their day out on a date.

Byakuya strode towards their table and stared at Rukia.

"May I have a moment, Rukia?" he asked, ignoring the man.

Byakuya saw the uncomfortable look on Rukia's face as she hesitated.

"Is something wrong, Rukia?" The man asked.

Rukia shook her head and smiled at the man and finally looked at Byakuya. "I'm busy now, Nii-sama. Maybe later."

Byakuya grew irritated but tried to remain composed. "It is of a very important matter, Rukia."

"I am busy, Nii-sama. I will look for you when I am done." repeated Rukia, this time turning her gaze away from Byakuya.

Byakuya stared at Rukia, startled. She had never disobeyed him like this. She had never spoken to him in this manner before and this time, Byakuya's irritation turned into worry. Had he really hurt Rukia?

"Rukia, it seemed as though you do not understand the importance of the matter on hand. It needs to be dealt with immediately." said Byakuya gently but a bit more firmly this time.

"I'm sure Nii-sama is capable of handling it on his own." replied Rukia as she turned away stubbornly.

"You do not have a choice, Rukia. This is an order." Byakuya finally said.

Rukia glared at no one in particular in anger as she stood up.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to, Rukia." The man said as Byakuya flashed him a look of irritation.

"This is not any of your business." Byakuya said, his tone clearly warning the man to back off.

The man ignored Byakuya and stood up, holding on to Rukia's arm. "You don't have to listen to him, Rukia."

Byakuya watched as Rukia pushed the man's hand away and replied him. "You don't understand. I'll be fine. Just a quick talk. I'll be back."

"Kuchiki Byakuya…" The man muttered as he stared at Byakuya angrily. "Is this really what you do best?"

Byakuya frowned. "Who are you and what are you talking about."

Rukia too, frowned in surprise at the man. "What's wrong, Tanako? Why are you speaking to Nii-sama in this manner?"

"Tanako?" repeated Byakuya as he stared at the man. "I see, so you are Sato Tanako."

Byakuya stared at Sato Tanako as he held on to Rukia's wrist and dragged her out of the café.

"What do you want, Nii-sama." asked Rukia reluctantly as Byakuya let go of her wrist.

"I just wish to talk about what happened." replied Byakuya.

Rukia felt her face burn in shame as she looked away. It was bad enough that she had acted that way; worse that he remembered and now he wants to _talk _about it?

"I don't see that there's anything to talk about, Nii-sama. It's my fault. I was in the wrong. So, do punish me as to how you see fit."

Byakuya stared at her for a moment then finally let out a soft sigh. "You did not do anything wrong, Rukia. There is no need for any punishment. I just want to say that it was the sake that made me behave in such an inappropriate manner and I need to apologise for it."

Rukia remained silent and Byakuya continued. "Rukia, what happened earlier was entirely my fault. I did not realise that what I drank had been sake and I should not have acted in that manner. I… I apologise, Rukia and I hope that you can forget about what happened earlier. It was my mistake."

Rukia sneaked a glance at Byakuya. He does seem awfully sorry and it was the first time Rukia had seen him apologising to anyone. He was looking at her waiting for a response and she finally sighed.

"Nii-sama, it's not your fault. I know it's the sake." she finally replied softly.

"Then why are you still angry with me?" asked Byakuya.

Rukia felt her brows furrowing and she tried to calm herself down. "I'm not angry with you, Nii-sama."

"It does not seem so, Rukia." pressed on Byakuya as he stared at her.

"Just let me be, Nii-sama. And rest assured that I really am not mad at you." Rukia said as she stared at the wandering crowd on the street.

"Rukia, if anything is wrong, you can talk to me about it."

Rukia nodded but did not reply. She knows that acting in this manner irks Byakuya but she had no choice. She cannot face him at the moment as every time she looks at him, she would be reminded of what had happened and how she had acted towards him. It made her feel cheap and very worthless and very stupid.

"Why are you with Sato Tanako, Rukia?" Byakuya asked suddenly as his eyes drifted back to the man sitting inside the café.

"He's my friend."

"You should stay away from him, Rukia." warned Byakuya as Rukia stared at him angrily.

"And why is that so, Nii-sama?" Rukia shot back angrily. She saw the shock in Byakuya's eyes but that didn't stop her. "Will this be one of your orders again, Nii-sama?"

Rukia watched as Byakuya stilled for a moment as he continued to stare at Rukia. He finally blinked and then regained his composure.

"He is not someone you should associate with, Rukia. Much less of a friend." Byakuya said carefully.

"Nii-sama, there's nothing wrong with him. You just don't like any of the guys I hang out with. Kaien-dono, Ichigo and even Renji. I know that, Nii-sama. But why? Can you give me a reason?" asked Rukia, half shouting.

Rukia knew that a few passerbys were starting to stare but she didn't care. At this point, she felt utterly humiliated and she still had to endure Byakuya's _orders_ and now he wants to choose her friends for her? What is she to him? His puppet?

Rukia didn't mind and was willing to obey everything her Nii-sama said before. But this time, Rukia could not take it anymore. She hated giving in to Byakuya earlier when he was clearly drunk and didn't mean anything he said. She hated how she had even thought that Byakuya was in love with her. She hated how he had wanted her to forget about what had happened earlier as though it was a mistake and it disgusted him. She hated how much her heart is hurting. She hated how she was angry with Byakuya for making her feel this way when he probably feels indifferent about everything.

"Rukia, can we go somewhere else and talk about this?" asked Byakuya, aware of the attention they were receiving. He had even spotted a few fellow shinigamis pointing and whispering at them.

"B-But, Tanako-"

"He can wait." said Byakuya as he held on to Rukia's wrist and led her towards the back of the cafe, into the car park. It was deserted and out of sight.

"What is going on, Rukia?" asked Byakuya, his face showing the slightest bit of concern.

Rukia shook her head stubbornly, refusing to speak. She looked at Byakuya as he paced to and fro in front of her looking extremely exasperated.

"Rukia, if you are still mad at me about what happened earlier, I will understand. And if there is any way that-"

"For the last time, Nii-sama, I'm not! I'm not!" shouted Rukia as a tear slipped off her eye. "I'm not angry with you! It's me, myself I'm angry with! Are you satisfied now?"

Byakuya reeled back in shock as though he had been slapped as he stared at Rukia. "Why?" he asked.

As though she had not heard him, Rukia sank down onto the pavement and let out another sob as she covered her face with her hands.

"Why am I feeling this way? Why? I don't want this. You don't want this either so why am I feeling like this? Why does it hurt so much when you told me to forget that it happened?" Rukia cried. "This feeling is so awful. I don't want it. What's wrong with me?"

Byakuya remained silent as he gazed at Rukia. So is this how she had been feeling these past few hours? Byakuya didn't know what he should do. He had never seen Rukia crying this badly before and he felt really guilty. He was the cause of this. If he had not harboured any forbidden feelings for Rukia, he would not have acted in that manner when he drank the sake and Rukia would not be resulted to this. He wanted so much to tell her that he truly cares for her, that he would protect her from any harm and that he loves her so very much.

Byakuya knelt down next to Rukia and finally put an arm around her as another hand stroked her head, hoping to comfort her. Rukia leant in immediately as she sobbed quietly into Byakuya chest.

For almost twenty minutes, everything was silent except for the sounds of Rukia sobs. Soon, Rukia finally calmed down and she quickly wiped her tears away and Byakuya let his hands drop to his sides.

"I-I'm so sorry, Nii-sama." apologised Rukia as she stood up and bowed hastily.

Byakuya stood up and stared at Rukia. "There is nothing to apologise for, Rukia."

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Rukia spoke. "I should leave now, Nii-sama. Tanako is still waiting for me."

And without waiting for Byakuya's reply, Rukia turned her back and began walking away while Byakuya could only watch as her figure became smaller and smaller until she finally disappeared round the corner.

* * *

**A/N:** How was it? I hope it wasn't too bad. I know it's a little depressing to see Rukia like this but... don't worry, she's not going to be like this for a long time. Well, I won't reveal too much so hopefully you guys will have the patience to read on!

REMEMBER TO REVIEW BEFORE YOU CLICK ON THE CROSS BUTTON THAT LEADS YOU TO EXITING THIS PAGE!


	9. Chapter 9

**Words to note:** Yukata - A Japanese garment, a casual summer Kimono usually made of cotton. People wearing yukata are a common sight in Japan at fireworks displays and other summer events.

* * *

Byakuya sighed as he drummed his fingers against the table irritably. He had been sitting on this chair for almost two hours, his gaze never away from the window. It may seem as though he was looking outside the window at the beautiful scenery but in fact, Byakuya was deep in thought. His mind could not stop replaying the scene that happened two days ago when Rukia had been crying in his arms.

He remembered Rukia sobbing as she said the one sentence that Byakuya could not stop pondering over.

"_Why does it hurt so much when you told me to forget that it happened?"_

Rukia's voice kept repeating like an old broken record over and over in Byakuya's mind. Did Rukia actually mean that she didn't want to forget what happened between them? Or did she actually feel that his apology wasn't sincere enough?

Byakuya groaned as he heard a knock on his door. Pushing back his chair, he made his way to the door and opened it.

"Afternoon, Taichou!" greeted Renji, smiling in an annoying sort of way that Byakuya had to resist the urge to slam the door right on his lieutenant's face.

"What is the matter, Renji?" asked Byakuya reluctantly.

"Ah, it's Saturday and I just wanted to remind you that tonight's the fireworks festival. Nobody had seen you for the whole of yesterday. Is everything alright, Taichou?"

Byakuya stared at Renji impatiently. "Is that all?"

"W-Well, I guess. So are you coming for tonight's event?" asked Renji hopefully. "Everyone else is coming and will be wearing their yukata."

"No. I am busy, Renji." replied Byakuya as he prepared to close his door. "If there is nothing else, then I shall get back to my work."

And with that, Byakuya closed his door and sighed with relief as he heard the sound of Renji's footsteps fading away.

Byakuya sat on the edge of the bed as he stared out of the window again. He had never been to a fireworks festival before. Many years ago when he was married to Hisana, she was too sick to even get out of the bed on some days, therefore, Byakuya never had a chance to go.

There had been several fireworks festivals in Seireitei after Hisana passed away but Byakuya felt that there was no point in going anymore. People normally watch the fireworks display with their family, friends or lovers and Byakuya felt that he didn't really have any of those. The members of the Kuchiki household never had the tradition of watching the fireworks together and Byakuya did not really have any friends, much less a lover.

Byakuya scoffed. It doesn't matter. There was no point in watching that few seconds of lights in the dark sky. They are just lights after all.

* * *

"Oi, Rukia, will you be watching the fireworks later?" Renji asked as bits of cookies flew out of his mouth.

"Watch it, Renji!" snapped Rukia as she brushed the crumbs away from her shirt. "I'll be going. What about you?"

Renji nodded as he swallowed. "Of course, too bad Taichou wouldn't be joining us."

Rukia went still for a moment but then quickly recovered when she noticed Renji's curious expression.

"S-So, Nii-sama won't be going, huh…" Rukia muttered.

Renji nodded as he grabbed another cookie from the buffet table and crammed it into his mouth. "He said he's busy. I don't understand Taichou. What could he be so busy with?"

Rukia had been avoiding Byakuya and she knew that he was avoiding her too but she could not understand why he was doing that. She was the one who was embarrassed and mortified by what happened and he seemed unfazed by it. Hence, there is no need of him to avoid her. Unless, he actually thought that she had gone too far by responding to him? Or perhaps he was disgusted by her? Rukia groaned as she slapped her palm against her forehead. As much as Rukia was avoiding him now, a little part of her had actually hoped to see Byakuya. He was cooped up in his room for two days and she wondered if he was actually eating properly and all.

Suddenly, Rukia felt a stinging pain on her back and she looked up in surprise to see Renji frowning at her.

"Did you just hit my back, Renji?" Rukia half-shouted as she glared at her friend. "What's that for?"

"I had been calling out to you for almost six times and you were just standing there spacing out! What the hell are you thinking about, Rukia?" asked Renji, annoyed.

Rukia's expression softened immediately as she sighed. "I'm actually worried about Nii-sama. He's cooped up in his room for two days. I wonder if he's okay."

"Ah, don't worry, Rukia. You know Taichou, probably busy with his paperwork and all. And he's not a kid you know. He knows how to take care of himself." replied Renji as he patted Rukia on the head.

Rukia smiled. "You're right. It was silly of me to worry. He's Nii-sama after all."

"That's the spirit, Rukia! Come on, I see Ichigo over there. Let's grab these fruit jellies and slip them down his shirt!"

Rukia giggled as she grabbed a few jellies from the buffet table with Renji and they raced towards Ichigo.

* * *

The night was breezy and the stars were twinkling playfully in the dark sky. Rukia was sitting on the grass with Ichigo, Renji, Inoue, Matsumoto and Hitsugaya Toshiro.

The crowd of people in the park started to thicken within a few minutes and some of the shinigamis and captains have joined them as well.

Soon, there was a loud bang and the sky was lighted up by a single blue firework. The crowd cheered as the second firework went up the sky. Not long later, dozens of fireworks illuminated the sky as the crowd watched on fascinated.

Rukia smiled wistfully as she watched her friends smiling happily as they watched the fireworks go up and disappear repeatedly. She wished she could put on a smile like them too. Rukia stood up and slipped off quietly to find a place where she could be alone to sort out her thoughts. She started to wander deeper into the park where the cheers of the crowds could no longer be heard.

Rukia reached into the robe of her Yukata and retrieved a pink hairclip. She touched the little flower on the clip delicately as though it might break any moment. Ever since her Nii-sama had given this hairclip to her, she had been carrying it in her pocket. Rukia didn't understand why. She wasn't the type of girl who appreciates hair accessories so why is she bringing this hairclip wherever she goes?

"Because I'm afraid I might lose it." Rukia said aloud to no one in particular as she walked on.

But a little voice in her head was being persistent. _Why? _The voice asked. _And why are you afraid of losing it?_

"Because Nii-sama is the one who…" trailed off Rukia as she suddenly gazed at the pink hairclip in horror.

Rukia continued to stare at the pink hairclip as her mind began working furiously. Is what she said really true? Was it because it was a gift from her Nii-sama that's why it's so precious to her?

And suddenly, everything seemed clear to Rukia. She finally understood why she had been bringing along the hairclip wherever she went. She finally understood why she had responded to him when he had kissed her. And then there was the disappointment when she realised he was actually not sober and the further disappointment when he had actually asked her to forget what had actually happened. It makes all perfect sense.

Suddenly there were footsteps behind her and Rukia whirled around in surprise. Had someone been following her?

She heaved a sigh of relief as the person came into view and smiled at her.

"Tanako! Have you been following me?" asked Rukia.

"Somewhat." smiled Tanako. "I was watching the fireworks when I saw you leaving your group of friends and wandered off. I didn't think it was safe for you to go off alone."

"I'm fine. I'm a shinigami, remember?" laughed Rukia.

Tanako nodded. "Ah, I seem to have forgotten that. You still seem like the hot headed kid when I first met you years ago. You're different now, Rukky-chan."

Rukia smiled. "I'm still hot headed sometimes. But I guess I've learnt to control my temper so much better. But other than that, I'm still me!"

"How's Kuchiki Byakuya treating you, Rukia? Have you been well in the Kuchiki house?" asked Tanako.

"Don't worry, Nii-sama treats me really well. There's everything I need in the Kuchiki manor and Nii-sama always make sure that I have everything that I would need. He doesn't seem to talk to me much actually but after a few incidents, he actually started to open up about himself. Nii-sama's a good man." replied Rukia as she smiled.

Tanako scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That's good to hear, Rukia. I'm glad you're happy. And you actually seem to like him a lot, don't you?"

At the last statement, Rukia could feel the heat creeping up to her face as she quickly turn away while spluttering, "Don't be silly! H-He's my Nii-sama!"

Tanako laughed as he tousled Rukia's hair. "Relax! I just mean that you seem to respect him a lot!"

"O-Oh…"

Rukia berated herself mentally as she clasped her hands nervously. And she had actually thought that Tanako had found out about her stupid little crush on Byakuya!

"It's late, Tanako. And I have to leave for Soul Society tomorrow. Why don't we catch up again back there?" asked Rukia.

Tanako nodded. "Sure thing, Rukky-chan. I'm tired too. Come on, let's head back together."

"U-Uh, I'd like to stay here a little while more. You go ahead first."

Tanako gave a nod and a wave as he walked off and then disappeared.

Rukia exhaled as she watched Tanako leave. Tomorrow, she will be back in Soul Society. Tomorrow, everything will return to normal again.

Rukia walked on, hairclip in hand as she let her thoughts wander. It wasn't before long when Rukia realised that her legs had brought her automatically to the place where she and Byakuya had fought with her look-a-like hollow a few days ago.

Surprisingly, without the rain and thunder, the clearing actually looked pretty. The moonlight shone as the trees swayed gently along with the gentle breeze.

Rukia stood in the middle of the clearing as she looked at the dark sky sighing softly. Had she really been in love with her Nii-sama all these while? And she had all along mistook that love as pure admiration and respect? Or did those admiration and respect somehow turned into love? Rukia wasn't quite sure but it doesn't matter. The point is, she actually realised that she was in love with Byakuya.

"Oh, what will everyone think if they realised how I was feeling towards him?" muttered Rukia. "And what will Nii-sama think if he found out?"

"And what would I think if I found out about what, Rukia?" A voice boomed behind Rukia as she gasped and turned around.

To her astonishment, Byakuya was standing a few feet away from her, frowning.

"What trouble did you get into, Rukia?" asked Byakuya as he advanced towards her.

"N-Nii-sama! I… No trouble!" she replied hurriedly. "I didn't get into any trouble!"

"Then what were you hiding from me? If you really want to know what I might think on that matter, then you should tell me about it, Rukia."

Rukia flushed as she blinked hard, trying to think of a way to worm her way out of this. Suddenly, she caught sight of the hairclip clutched in her hand and quickly whipped it out to show Byakuya.

"There! This!" exclaimed Rukia as she waved the hairclip at him. "I was just wondering what would Nii-sama think if I were to clip this on!"

Byakuya did not seem to suspect as he walked towards Rukia, a small and very rare smile on his face. He was soon standing in front of Rukia and he took the hair clip from her.

"I think you will look very pretty, Rukia." He said softly as he helped Rukia clip it on.

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise as she felt her heart hammering wildly against her chest. So is this what love feels like? To have your heart pounding wildly when he gets so near to you?

Byakuya took a step back as he stared at Rukia. "And I am right."

Rukia blushed as she stared at her feet, suddenly feeling shy and awkward.

"So, what are you doing here at this time?" asked Byakuya.

"W-Well, I was actually watching the fireworks but decided to take a walk instead." replied Rukia.

Byakuya gave a nod as he turned to look at the full moon. "It is a pleasant night for a walk."

Rukia cleared her throat, attempting to push away the shyness and awkwardness that was slowly creeping into her.

"So is Nii-sama out for a walk too?" she asked.

Byakuya gave a nod as his gaze landed on Rukia's hairclip. "Is that the hairclip from the capsule machine?"

Rukia nodded, suddenly feeling shy all over again. "It was Nii-sama's first gift to me."

Byakuya raised his eyebrows. "Is that so? I did not realise. What about your birthdays?"

"Well, Nii-sama always appoints the maids in the manor to just get me anything as they see fit but they weren't really gifts from you, Nii-sama, although they were using your money, if you get what I mean." explained Rukia.

"Did they get you useless things?"

"No, of course not. They got me very useful stuff but… it's just different."

Byakuya frowned. "How so?"

Rukia fidgeted uncomfortably as she muttered, "Well, because you wasn't the one picking the gift and you wasn't the one handing it to me."

Byakuya seemed slightly surprised. "I always thought that as long as the money is from me, then that counts as a present from me."

Rukia giggled as she caught the look on Byakuya's face. "Well, technically yes. But that way, it doesn't show your sincerity."

"I see. So were you upset?" Byakuya asked as he looked at Rukia curiously.

"U-Um… actually, yes." mumbled Rukia.

Byakuya sighed. "I apologise, Rukia. I did not realise that-"

"Oh, please don't apologise, Nii-sama!" interrupted Rukia. "It's not your fault. I know you're always busy and all and I was just being silly!"

Byakuya smiled. "Well, then I guess there is still a lot for me to learn, Rukia."

"I think you're good enough, Nii-sama." Rukia said quietly as she gave a small smile.

There was silence between them as Byakuya continued gazing at the moon, immersed in his own thoughts as Rukia looked at him. It seemed as though all the awkwardness had disappeared between them and it was as though what happened two days ago was merely a bad dream that didn't exist. She liked it this way. She didn't want to avoid Byakuya anymore. She always feel the happiest when she could just talk to Byakuya this way. Sometimes, just standing in silence together with him would also be more than enough. Yes, she wasn't greedy. She's just happy whenever Byakuya's by her side.

Rukia quickly tore her gaze away from Byakuya as he turned around slowly to face her. "Shall we head back now, Rukia?"

"Yes, let's go." replied Rukia happily as she ran to Byakuya's side.

* * *

She was so pretty under the moonlight that Byakuya could not resist but to walk towards her. He was actually surprised to see Rukia earlier, standing alone. He could actually turn and walk the other way when he noticed her but Byakuya could not resist. He didn't want to avoid Rukia any longer. He hated the feeling of cooping up in his room wondering if Rukia was either with that Kurosaki brat or worse, Tanako when he could actually track her down and find out for himself.

Byakuya walked on as Rukia walked next to him, a little bounce in every step she took. She seemed happy, he realised as another smile graced his lips. They finally reached their hotel and they boarded the lift up to their floor.

Byakuya looked at his watch. It was almost midnight now.

"Goodnight, Rukia. Rest well. The elders will be coming by for dinner tomorrow night." said Byakuya as he reached his door.

He opened his door and was about to step in when Rukia stopped him.

"Wait, Nii-sama!"

Byakuya turned around, puzzled.

"Um, Nii-sama, you're not going to sleep now, are you?" asked Rukia meekly.

"Not yet, Rukia. What is the matter?" He asked, as he looked at her slightly suspicious.

Rukia gave an awkward laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck shyly. "W-Well, I was just thinking if Nii-sama wanted to play Monopoly."

"Monopoly?" asked Byakuya. "What is that?"

"Oh, it's a board game, Nii-sama! It's my favourite, actually. Ichigo and Orihime taught me the previous time I camped out at Ichigo's place! It's really fun!" exclaimed Rukia excitedly.

"I guess it would be not a problem. So where can we play this game?" Byakuya asked as he looked around.

"Oh, either your room or my room, Nii-sama!" said Rukia happily. "How about my room? The game's in my room anyway."

Byakuya nodded as he closed his door. He was soon in Rukia's room as she picked up a box from the floor and gleefully showed it to Byakuya.

"See, Nii-sama? This is the game I was talking about." said Rukia as she set the board down on the floor and began distributing some money to Byakuya.

Byakuya knelt across Rukia as he stared at the game. There were lots of boxes with colours surrounding the edge of the board and two decks of cards in the middle.

"Don't worry, Nii-sama. I'm going to teach you how to play." Rukia said as she held out several metal tokens for Byakuya.

* * *

Rukia heard the electronic clock beeped twice, indicating that it is two in the morning but she ignored it. She was laughing as she rolled her dice.

"I still do not understand why I have to land in jail when I have not done anything wrong." said Byakuya irritably.

Rukia wiped the tears from her eyes as she stared at Byakuya, still trying to contain her laughter. He had actually landed in jail six times for the past two hours and Byakuya, being Byakuya, started to feel slightly sore about it.

"Oh, come on, Nii-sama. You'll be out really soon." giggled Rukia as she moved her metal shoe token while counting the steps that she must take. She finally landed in Mayfair and she groaned as Byakuya's eyes lit up.

"Pay up, Rukia." He ordered as he put his hand out, smirking.

Rukia stared at her depleting cash in dismay. "But it's so ridiculous! You have two hotels and three houses built here, how am I going to pay for it?"

Byakuya's smirk became wider. "You have to pay up, Rukia. That is the rule."

Pouting, Rukia's eyes travelled around the board and she finally clapped her hands in delight. "Alright, how about this? You let me go just this once and I promise for the next three times that you have to land in jail, I'd let you get away with it. What do you think?"

Byakuya seemed to ponder for a moment and then finally replied with a haughty smile. "No."

"Oh, come on, Nii-sama! I don't have any more money already." whined Rukia as she gazed at him with pleading eyes.

Byakuya ignored her as he stretched out his palm towards her playfully. "Pay up, Rukia if not I will have to seize your properties to make up for it."

Rukia groaned in defeat as she shoved a pile of money into Byakuya's hand. "Fine, take all you want, Nii-sama. You have no heart."

Byakuya cast an amused glance at Rukia as she looked at the pathetic amount of money that she had left with while pouting.

"Oh, come on, Rukia. You will be rich again very soon." mimicked Byakuya as Rukia gave a scowl.

Not long later, Rukia found herself completely broke with no properties left as Byakuya had seized every single one of them.

"I really don't have anything to pay you, Nii-sama." said Rukia in exasperation as her metal shoe landed on another one of Byakuya's properties.

"Then I have no choice but to do it, Rukia. You agreed to the punishment yourself." reminded Byakuya as he looked at Rukia with anticipation.

Rukia threw up her hands in defeat. "Alright, fine! Flick my forehead all you want, Nii-sama!"

And with that, Rukia closed her eyes waiting for the pain to come. But after several seconds, it never did and Rukia opened her eyes curiously.

She almost toppled backwards when she realised that Byakuya's face was actually inches away from hers and he was gazing at her.

"N-Nii-sama?"

Byakuya then leaned in as he took her chin between his fingers. "Be still, Rukia and receive your punishment."

And Rukia's eyes flew open in shock as she felt Byakuya's soft lips pressing against her own.

* * *

**A/N: **So what do you think? I'm actually really pleased with this chapter as I wanted to add in a lighter atmosphere between them and also show how much fun they could actually have if Byakuya were to loosen up a little bit. I deliberately picked Monopoly as it has always been my favourite game and I actually remember that there was this omake chapter from the manga series that Yamamoto organized some game competition and Byakuya invented something like the Monopoly game. Did any of you remember that? I thought it was really cute!

And yes, the flicking on the forehead thing is a common punishment among Asians like the chinese, japanese and koreans. I'm not sure if it's a "common practice" with the people living in the states or UK or anywhere else.

Do drop me a review please!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the slightly later than usual update! I had been busying studying for my exams. And sad to say, they're still not over. But don't worry, I'll continue updating but it might just take a little longer than usual. Anyway, thank you all for the fab reviews on the previous chapter. They really made my day! Wait, I mean, they really made my month. So, thank you! You guys are so encouraging and motivational!  
By the way, I was looking back at my previous story and I saw that I mentioned how I wished Gin was actually a good guy and he pretended to be some badass so as to put a stop to Aizen's plans? And it actually came true! I know a lot of Gin fans out there probably wished for the same thing but still! Okay, so now I'm going to wish here that Byakuya and Rukia gets together!

* * *

Byakuya did not know what had gotten into him. At first, he was playing a perfectly innocent game of Monopoly with Rukia, and then he had actually wanted to flick her forehead but as soon as Byakuya saw her close her eyes with that slight tinge of pink across her cheek, Byakuya knew that he had to kiss her one more time. And this time, he didn't want alcohol or anything to be in the way. Yes, he wanted to see how kissing Rukia would feel like.

And that was when Byakuya leaned forward and placed his lips on hers. It was a feeling Byakuya had never felt before. The feeling never came whenever he kissed Hisana. He did truly love Hisana but this was something else entirely.

The kiss felt bittersweet and somehow, it spoke of years of longing and wanting and passion so strong that Byakuya had never experienced before. He slanted his mouth across Rukias' and was actually surprised when Rukia slowly responded to his kiss. It had been barely ten seconds when he felt Rukia pushing him away.

"N-Nii-sama, we… I… why is this happening again?" stammered Rukia as she stared at the empty space between her and Byakuya.

Byakuya glanced at Rukia as he shifted uncomfortably. What should he say? That he had come to realise that he had fallen for her? Or that he is starting to care for her more than how a normal sibling would care for another? Either way, it did not sound right to Byakuya.

"I apologise for my behaviour, Rukia." He finally said. "It is late. I should go."

Byakuya was about to stand up but then was surprised when Rukia suddenly reached up and grabbed his hand.

"Nii-sama, please, I need an explanation." Rukia pleaded. "I want to know what's going on."

Byakuya gave a soft sigh as he pushed Rukia's hand away. "Please forget all about it, Rukia."

Byakuya was about to turn and leave when he saw a tear trickling down Rukia's face.

"Rukia…" he started but before he could finish, Rukia had stood up and was furiously brushing her tears away.

"That's the problem, Nii-sama. I wish I can forget all that has happened. But every time I try to do that, you turn around and decide that you want to make me remember all of it again. You told me to forget about it and I'm trying. But are you really giving me a chance, Nii-sama? I just want an explanation. The way you make me feel now… it's just terrible! I'm not your doll, Nii-sama, you can't just do things to me and expect me to forget about it without really giving me an explanation. I just want to know why you're doing this, is this too much to ask for?" shouted Rukia as the tears continued to fall.

There was a deafening silence once Rukia stopped as Byakuya stared at her.

"Do you really want to know how I feel, Rukia?" Byakuya asked finally, his gaze never leaving hers.

Rukia gave a nod and Byakuya continued his voice soft but firm.

"Ever since I saw how Ichimaru Gin almost took your life, I knew I had to keep you safe. I knew I had to protect you even at the expense of my own life. And I worry for you every single time you were out on a mission. I worry so much I could not sleep until I have news that you are safe and sound."

"That is because you swore on Hisana-san's grave to take care of me. You only care for me like a sister." muttered Rukia.

Byakuya shook his head as he stood in front of Rukia, his tall frame overpowering hers. "That is where you are wrong, Rukia. I care for you like…"

"Like what…?" whispered Rukia, hopefully.

"Like how a man cares when he is in love with a woman." finished off Byakuya as Rukia's eyes widened.

"A-Are you saying that… that…" stuttered Rukia.

Byakuya nodded. "Yes, Rukia."

Rukia blinked hard several times, flustered. "Well, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Are you really asking me this question, Rukia?" asked Byakuya as he gave a soft dry laugh and move to sit on the edge of Rukia's bed.

"Why? What's wrong?" asked Rukia.

"Have you forgotten that I am a Kuchiki? And the elders?" remarked Byakuya.

Rukia sighed as she walked towards Byakuya and stood in front of him. "We can work this out, Nii-sama."

Frowning as though confused, Byakuya looked up at Rukia. "We?"

"Yes, we." repeated Rukia. "Unless you don't want to."

A soft smile graced Byakuya's lips as he encircled his arms around Rukia's waist. "I have been waiting for you to say that for so long, Kuchiki Rukia."

Rukia smiled as she bent down to kiss Byakuya on the lips. The next moment, Rukia had found herself lying on top of Byakuya as he lay on her bed, hands roaming all over her as their breathing turned short and ragged. She could feel the sash around her yukata loosening and she quickly reached down to hold it on.

"W-Wait." stopped Rukia as she scurried out of bed while trying to catch her breath.

"Is anything wrong?" asked Byakuya, concerned as he sat up.

"No. Nothing." replied Rukia as she quickly redid her sash. "I just remembered we had to do something."

Byakuya raised his eyebrows. "Aren't we doing it now?"

Rukia laughed, her eyes twinkling playfully. "No, of course not. Come with me, Nii-sama!"

"Nii-sama? Are you still going to call me that, Rukia?" asked Byakuya as he got out of the bed and tidied his appearance.

"I mean… B-Byakuya." replied Rukia hastily as she blushed.

Byakuya smiled as he took her hand. "Where do you want to take me, Rukia?"

"Just follow me, okay? You'll like it. I promise." giggled Rukia as she led Byakuya out of the room.

* * *

"Are you done, Rukia? Can I look now?" asked Byakuya as he fidgeted uncomfortably on the wooden bench with both his hands covering his eyes.

Rukia had brought him to the deserted park and had forced him to sit on the bench with his eyes covered. Byakuya did not know what she was up to and he was getting a little curious. It had probably only been twenty minutes but it felt to Byakuya as though he had been there for two hours already. Just when he was starting to feel rather silly and was going to take a look, he heard Rukia's footsteps running towards him as she giggled.

"You can look now!" she said excitedly as Byakuya let his hands fall to his sides.

At first there was nothing and just when Byakuya was about to ask Rukia what was this all about, a bang sounded and the sky was lit up by a single red firework.

"Rukia, did you-"

"Shh! Just watch!" Rukia hushed as she sat beside him staring at the sky.

Byakuya fell silent as he looked up at the sky. Another blue firework burst into the dark sky and then another and another.

Byakuya turned to look at Rukia as the fireworks continued. She looked happy and blissful and this was the first time Byakuya had seen her like this. The usual frown on her face was gone.

"Why did you do this, Rukia?"

Rukia smiled. "Because you missed the fireworks earlier on."

"Thank you, Rukia." said Byakuya and kissed Rukia on the lips as another red firework lit up the midnight sky.

"I'm glad you like it." whispered Rukia.

Their kiss turned into a hug as Byakuya pulled Rukia onto his lap as she snuggled against him, with his arms wrapped around her. The both of them cuddled in silence as they watched the last firework disappear.

"How did you get the fireworks, Rukia?" asked Byakuya, curious.

"Oh, it wasn't hard. I ran to the fireworks shop across the street while you had your eyes closed and set it up."

Byakuya frowned. "Why is the shop open at this hour? It is almost three-thirty in the morning."

Rukia smiled sheepishly. "Well, they were actually closed. I had to sneak to the back to grab a box."

"You _stole_ a box of fireworks?" asked Byakuya, incredulous.

"I didn't steal! I left money there!"

Byakuya smiled, clearly amused. "How much?"

"Well, about four times the usual price for the fireworks and quite a lot for the broken window." muttered Rukia, her face reddening.

Byakuya let out a soft laugh as Rukia gazed at him, shocked.

"You're laughing." she said.

"And?" asked Byakuya.

"I haven't heard you laugh like this before!" exclaimed Rukia.

"Really. There are still a lot that you need to observe about me, Rukia." said Byakuya as he smiled.

"Can you believe how weird this week has been?" asked Rukia sleepily as she gave a yawn.

Byakuya smiled as he kissed Rukia on the forehead. "Yes. But I think we should both catch some sleep now. We have to head home tomorrow, Rukia."

Rukia nodded as she disentangled herself from Byakuya. "Yes, and we still have the elders to meet tomorrow."

With a sigh, Rukia walked alongside Byakuya back to their rooms.

"Rest well, Rukia." said Byakuya as they stood at the empty corridor outside their rooms.

"Goodnight, Nii- I mean, Byakuya. Yes, goodnight, Byakuya." replied Rukia as Byakuya went into his room.

* * *

"Is everyone here?" asked Ukitake as a gloomy bunch of shinigamis gathered before him holding their rucksacks.

Rukia glanced around trying to spot for Byakuya again but to no avail.

"Uh, Taichou's missing." chipped in Renji as he looked around.

"Weird. Where did that Byakuya go?" mumbled Ichigo.

Renji laughed. "Maybe he's still sprawled on the beach somewhere refusing to leave!"

There was laughter from the group as Ukitake broke in, "Don't worry about Byakuya. He has already left early this morning. He's already back in Soul Society."

"Ah, I see Taichou really couldn't stand it here after all." remarked Renji.

A flutter of worry flitted through Rukia's stomach as she listened to Renji. Why did Byakuya leave without informing her? Had he woke up this morning and decided that things between them was a bad idea after all? Or is what Renji said true? Byakuya couldn't stand it here. Or maybe Byakuya couldn't stand her.

Rukia shook her head hoping to chase the negative thoughts away. It was silly of her to always think of the worst.

"Come on, Rukia. The Senkai Gate is open. Let's go." Renji said as he stepped into it followed closely by Rukia.

Rukia bade goodbye to Renji and the rest as she flash stepped towards the Kuchiki manor. As soon as the guards let her in the front gate, Rukia made her way to her room and dumped her backpack there and then decided to look for Byakuya. She walked towards Byakuya's room but before she could knock on his door, Rukia heard several voices which seemed to be involved in a heated argument. Rukia stopped in her tracks. She was about to turn and leave when she heard Byakuya's voice loud and clear.

"I will not agree to this preposterous decision that you have arranged, Minami-sama."

Minami-sama? Rukia's stomach did a back flip. What are the elders doing here at this time? Didn't they say that they will be here during dinner? Rukia's mind began working furiously. Or have she heard wrongly? Were the elders supposed to come at this timing instead?

Rukia broke out of her reverie just as she heard footsteps approaching on the other side of the door. She was about to make a dash for it when the door slid open and she came face to face with Byakuya.

"What are you doing here, Rukia?" asked Byakuya, his face impassive.

"I… um…" stammered Rukia as she saw Minami-sama approaching.

"Good afternoon, Rukia." greeted Minami-sama icily. "Were you waiting for me to greet you first?"

Rukia quickly shook her head and bowed. "O-Of course not, I apologise for my behaviour, Minami-sama and a good afternoon to you too."

Minami-sama stared at Rukia haughtily before turning to Byakuya. "This child will never learn, Byakuya-sama. Perhaps we should let her go through the training course again. She needs to behave like a real noble lady."

Rukia cringed. She hated the training course. She hated it more than anything else in the world. She had to stop her work shinigami duties as she was swamped with practices from the training course where the strict trainers had to teach her how to sit, eat, talk and walk properly. She had managed to scrape through it after a month of rigorous training and Rukia swore to herself that there is no way she would repeat the training all over again.

Thankfully for Rukia, Byakuya spoke up in time before Minami-sama could decide. "I do not think there is anything wrong with Rukia. She has always behaved splendidly at every function."

Minami-sama seemed deflated. "Well, if that is alright with you, Byakuya-sama, then of course I wouldn't pursue it."

Byakuya gave a brief nod and Minami-sama continued, "Byakuya-sama, about what we talked earlier, I do not think that you have much say in that matter. Even your grandfather has given the nod to it. Therefore, I think that you should prepare yourself for it. It will benefit the Kuchiki clan so much, Byakuya-sama."

Rukia noticed the flare of anger in Byakuya's eyes but his lips remained in a very thin straight line.

"Well, I should go now, Byakuya-sama. I will drop in a few days later again. Perhaps by that time, you would see that what you are about to do will bring the clan so much pride and honour." And with a curt nod to Rukia, Minami-sama left.

"What was that all about?" asked Rukia as soon as she saw Minami-sama stepping out of the front gates.

"Nothing to worry about, Rukia." replied Byakuya but Rukia could see the tension in his grey eyes.

A moment of silence passed by them before Byakuya spoke. "Is anything the matter, Rukia?"

"Umm… About yesterday and what happened this week…" trailed off Rukia as she glanced at Byakuya uncertainly.

"What about it?" asked Byakuya.

Rukia cleared her throat. "Well, do you regret any of it? If you d-do, it's really okay, I would completely understand and will definitely respect-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Rukia was tugged into the arms of Byakuya as he wrapped her arms around her and kissed her on the top of her head.

"I have never and will never regret this, Rukia." replied Byakuya firmly.

Rukia heaved a sigh of relief as she smiled. "Me too, even though it has been weird, but I like this. It's a nice kind of weird."

Byakuya chuckled as he released her.

"So are you going to the sixth division now? Maybe we could walk together." suggested Rukia.

Byakuya nodded as he slid the door of his room closed behind him.

* * *

As soon as they reached the thirteenth division, they were greeted by a very excited Matsumoto who was pacing around as though she was waiting eagerly for someone.

"Yoohoo, Rukia, you're finally here!" shouted Matsumoto at the top of her lungs as she ran towards them, her face flushed with excitement.

Rukia raised an eyebrow, amused. "Matsumoto, have you been waiting for me?"

Matsumoto nodded eagerly but then her eyes swept towards Byakuya who was beside Rukia. "Oh, you're here too, Kuchiki Taichou!"

Byakuya ignored Matsumoto as he stood there wondering what could the strawberry blonde be up to.

Matsumoto turned her attention back to Rukia as she grinned widely. "Oh, spill the beans, Rukia! Come on, I promise I won't tell anyone else!"

Rukia blinked. "What?"

"Oh, don't act coy. Just tell me! Who was the guy?" giggled Matsumoto.

"What?" repeated Rukia. What in the world was Matsumoto talking about?

"Oh, come on, I saw you walking off into the woods during the fireworks festival yesterday and then a really hot guy followed you in soon after! So who is he?" asked Matsumoto as he eyes gleamed mischievously.

Rukia took a moment to register before it finally clicked. "Oh, you must be talking about Tanako!"

"Tanako?" repeated Matsumoto. "You mean your childhood friend you once talked to me about? That Tanako?"

Rukia nodded, happily. "Yes, he's back!"

Matsumoto's eyes turned misty immediately as she sighed. "I'm just so happy for you, Rukia. He is so hot! So what did you two do yesterday in the woods?"

"Um, nothing?"

Matsumoto frowned. "Nothing? Come on, just tell already! Was there a little flirting? Maybe even some touching? Or did you guys go all the way? Come on, tell me all the juicy details!"

Rukia stared at Matsumoto as her face went hot. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you don't understand the meaning of 'go all the way'?" asked Matsumoto. "You know, like sex. Stripping off your clothes, running your hands all over each other, and then finally the magical part where the guy will-"

"I know!" shouted Rukia as she interrupted Matsumoto. "I know what it means! Please stop describing it to me."

Matsumoto clucked her tongue. "Oh, then you should have said so earlier!"

"Nothing happened between Tanako and me! We're just friends!" explained Rukia, exasperated.

Matsumoto was about to speak but then was interrupted by Byakuya clearing his throat in an irritated sort of way and then realization dawned on Matsumoto.

"Oh, of course you couldn't say a thing with your brother here, Rukia. That would be so inappropriate right?" asked Matsumoto as she winked at Rukia. "Never mind, come look for me later and tell me all about it."

Rukia groaned. "But there's nothing to talk about, Matsumoto. Nothing happened."

Just then, the three of them heard a loud angry shout as Matsumoto froze.

"Matsumoto!" The voice shouted. "Why are there sake poured all over the paperwork?"

"Oh, crap. That's my Taichou." she said hurriedly. "Please tell him you just saw me discussing work with the guys from 12th division."

Before Rukia could reply, Matsumoto had already dashed off in lightning speed. A small figure came towards them in hurried steps as Matsumoto disappeared around the corner.

"Have any of you seen that lazy Matsumoto?" asked Toshiro irritably.

"Yes, she was just here babbling about nonsense and wasting our time." replied Byakuya.

Toshiro growled in annoyance. "Which way did she go?"

"Around that corner."

Toshiro nodded as he flash stepped while shouting, "Wait til' I get my hands on you, Matsumoto!"

And to their amazement, they heard a shout from Matsumoto, "Then you'd have to come inside the women's bath, Taichou!"

Rukia laughed as she shook her head. "That Matsumoto sure can shout."

"And she sure does talk a lot." added in Byakuya.

There was a moment of silence and then Rukia spoke up. "I should get in. There's tons of paperwork for me to do and my Taichou has called in sick again and Kiyone and Sentaro are looking after him."

"Hold on, Rukia." said Byakuya as he looked at her. "What is going on between you and Tanako?"

Rukia looked away uncomfortable as she cleared her throat. "N-Nothing."

Byakuya frowned. "Nothing? Really, Rukia? Do you think you can convince me with that expression on your face?"

"W-Well, there's nothing between us now, I swear. But…"

"But what? Tell me, Rukia. I want to know." said Byakuya as he squeezed her hand gently.

Rukia sighed. "I used to have a really huge crush on him. But of course that was a really long time ago."

Byakuya fell silent for a moment and then spoke, "So did anything develop between the two of you?"

"No. He didn't know anything about it. B-But I don't know why I have the feeling it's as though he knows." replied Rukia slowly.

"What makes you say that?"

Rukia frowned as though she was thinking back on what happened. "We were getting along fine until he left…"

Byakuya did not interrupt so Rukia continued. "We were writing letters to each other until he stopped replying me. So I'm guessing maybe he found out and freaked out or something."

"So is anything going to develop now that he is back?" asked Byakuya, a slight edge in his voice.

Rukia stared at him, appalled. "Of course not! How can you say that?"

Byakuya seemed to relax. "I apologise, Rukia. I just wanted to be certain."

Rukia gave a small smile. "Well, I really need to head in to do my paperwork now."

"Alright, I will come by after I finish my work today." replied Byakuya.

"For what?" asked Rukia, confused.

Byakuya smiled. "To walk home together of course."

Rukia blushed as she tried to hide the smile that was forming on her lips. "O-Okay."

Rukia was about to turn and leave when Byakuya bent down and kissed her on the lips. Startled by his action, Rukia quickly pushed him away.

"Don't do that here, Byakuya!" she hissed. "We might get seen!"

Byakuya chuckled. "There is no one here, Rukia."

Rukia flushed. "W-We still might get seen…"

"Not to worry, Rukia. I do not sense any reiatsu around here." replied Byakuya.

"Oh, okay then…" trailed off Rukia as she stood in front of him.

"Okay to what, Rukia?" asked Byakuya, his eyesbrows raised.

This time, Rukia could feel her face burning up as she quickly turned away to hide her embarrassment. She had actually thought that Byakuya would kiss her again!

"Okay to what, Rukia?" repeated Byakuya cheekily. "Did you actually want me to kiss you again?"

"O-Of course not! W-What nonsense!" blabbered Rukia as her face felt ten times hotter than before. "I didn't mean that! I just meant that it would not be a problem if there were no people around. N-No, I meant that it would be less inappropriate if there were no other people-"

Rukia could not finish her sentence as Byakuya's lips were on hers again this time. She opened her mouth to protest but Byakuya took the chance to delve his tongue into her mouth. She could almost taste how much he wanted her and Rukia felt the same way too.

Rukia's breath turned into short pants as Byakuya's lips left hers and travelled towards her neck, kissing and occasionally sucking on her soft, pale flesh. She could feel his hot breath against her skin and she felt herself tingling with excitement. It was then when she felt Byakuya's hand cupping her rear as she gave a moan. Rukia arched her back into him and was about to run her hands all over his back when Byakuya suddenly let go of her.

"Someone is coming." muttered Byakuya quickly as he straightened his appearance.

Rukia brushed her hair hurriedly and fanned her face hoping that the heat would disappear. True enough, very soon after, they heard hurried footsteps coming their way. A man wearing the Kuchiki guard's uniform appeared before them, bowed and handed a letter to Byakuya.

"Kuchiki-sama, this was sent to you by Minami-sama. She said that she wished for your presence at the dinner function next week." said the guard.

Byakuya gave a curt nod and waved the guard away. As soon as the guard had flash stepped away, Byakuya's foul mood seemed to have taken over as he read the letter in silence.

"Is something wrong?" asked Rukia softly as Byakuya folded the letter and tucked it away.

Byakuya shook his head but Rukia could see the fury in his eyes. She didn't know what she should do. She had always avoided Byakuya whenever he was in a foul mood but given their relationship now, Rukia felt as though it would be wrong if she were to avoid him.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, Byakuya." said Rukia encouragingly as she placed her hand on his arm.

Byakuya did not reply nor did he give any form of response so Rukia continued, "You'll feel better after talking about it. And you know you can trust me. What's wrong? What do the elders want from-"

"I do not wish to talk about it right now, Rukia." snapped Byakuya as he moved away from her.

Shocked, Rukia let her hands fall to her side. "I-I'm sorry. I just thought that maybe you'd feel better after talking about it…"

"Rukia, please do not be mistaken." replied Byakuya coldly. "But the position you have now does not give you the right to interfere with my private life."

Rukia gazed at Byakuya as tears threatened to fall. "I-I understand. I'm sorry about it, _Nii-sama_."

And without a backward glance, Rukia fled into the empty 13th division office as she slid the door closed with a loud bang.

* * *

**A/N: **And I hope this chapter was somewhat satisfying for you guys. First confession and first fight! I enjoy writing about couple fights almost as much as the fluffy moments as we get to see the characters tensed, jealous and so on and so forth. Wouldn't we love to see a jealous Byakuya!  
Please take some time to type me a review! I would love you so much! ^_^


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hi you all! This is the fastest update from me so far! I know there are a lot of questions and confusion from the last chapter so I hope this chapter explains everything to you. To be honest, I almost gave up on this fic from the number of reviews I had from the previous chapter. But then I was re-reading my reviews and private messages and there were some readers who had been encouraging me and reading this story ever since I got started on chapter 1. Well, so for now, I think I'll still continue with this story since I've already had plans for the next 2-3 chapters.  
**Anyway, this chapter is lovingly dedicated to:** **L**, **vicky73**, **DRUON** and **KRLY **(I hope I didn't miss anyone out. Do give a holler if I've missed you out!) Thank you guys, for reviewing every chapter! And of course a huge thanks to the rest of you who reviewed! Onward with the story!

**Warning:** Smut, lemon or whatever you guys call it. And I forgot to mention that this is my longest chapter yet! :D

* * *

As soon as Byakuya heard the word 'Nii-sama' spilling out of Rukia's lips, he knew he had gone too far. Byakuya sighed. He did not mean to hurt Rukia but he just did not want Rukia to worry. Byakuya took a glance at the letter again as his frown turned deeper. He heard a sob coming from the room Rukia was in and he winced. Byakuya walked towards the shoji door separating him and Rukia and stood there for almost a minute before speaking.

"Rukia, I apologise about what just happened." said Byakuya as her sobs died down to a hiccup. "I did not mean what I said."

There was no reply from Rukia nor any sound was made in the room and Byakuya was about to slide the door open when the shoji door suddenly slid opened and Rukia emerged, her eyes all red and puffy.

"If you didn't mean what you said, then why did you say it in the first place?" muttered Rukia as an angry tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

Byakuya's hand reached out wanting to brush away the tear from Rukia's face but she quickly stepped back as she looked away.

Byakuya let his hand fall to his side as he sighed. "Rukia, I did not want to make you worried. And I do not have the habit of sharing my problems with anyone. I normally deal with my problems alone. Do you understand that?"

Rukia finally looked up, but the hurt was evident in her eyes. "I just wanted to share your burden, is that so hard? Are you still closing your heart to me after all that has happened? You still don't trust me enough to share your problems, do you?"

"Rukia, it is no big deal. I can handle the problem myself. You do not have to get worried for nothing." replied Byakuya.

"Don't you understand, Byakuya? It doesn't matter if the problem is big or small, what I want is for you to share them with me. If you're going to keep things from me, then I see no reason for us to continue this."

Byakuya's eyes widened at her words. Does she really mean it? Byakuya had thrown his pride away to tell her about his feelings for her and it had resulted to this? Byakuya felt a stab of hurt and disappointment as he stared at Rukia. He knew what she said made sense but he needed time for the change. He never shared his problems with anyone before, not even Hisana and it was a big step for Byakuya.

"Hisana never-" Byakuya stopped in mid sentence as he watched Rukia flinched and that was when he realised that he had again, said the wrong thing.

Rukia took another step back, a look of mortification on her face. "Y-You're right. We can't do this. What were we thinking?"

Byakuya noticed the panic in Rukia's voice and he quickly grabbed Rukia by her shoulders. "Rukia, listen to me. There is nothing wrong about us. And about Hisana-"

Rukia interrupted Byakuya, as she broke into a sob. "There will always be Hisana-san between us. She is my sister. _Your wife_."

"My _late_ wife." corrected Byakuya as he held Rukia to him. "Rukia, I want you to know that Hisana had passed away so many years ago. But I will not deny that there will always be a special place for her in my heart but you are the one I love and care about now, Rukia."

Rukia sniffled as she breathed in the scent of Byakuya as he wrapped his arm around her while another hand was stroking her hair in a comforting manner.

"I-I'm sorry." she finally said as she looked up at him. "I don't know what has gotten into me."

Byakuya hugged her closer to him as he whispered lovingly into her ear. "There is nothing for you to feel sorry about, Rukia. I should be the one apologising. You are right, there is nothing that I will keep from you again."

Byakuya's heart lifted as soon as he saw the smile on Rukia's face as she nodded.

"Thank you." whispered Rukia as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest.

"Rice, salmon, beef and a cup of hot green tea." Byakuya said suddenly as Rukia turned up to look at him, her eyebrows raised.

"What?" she asked as he chuckled.

"The food I am having for my lunch later." he simply replied. "Did I not tell you that I will not be keeping anymore things from you again?"

Rukia laughed as she tip-toed and kiss Byakuya on the lips. Byakuya deepened the kiss as his hands flew to Rukia's rear as he hoisted her up. Instinctively, Rukia wrapped her legs around Byakuya's torso as she moaned in delight when his lips travelled towards her neck. Hearing her moan, Byakuya could feel the heat and desire from his chest shooting straight to the sensitive spot between his legs and Byakuya had to keep himself from groaning.

He looked up to see Rukia's flushed face as she panted, her eyes hazed with lust and desire for him. Byakuya could almost smell her arousal as he continued to rub her back in sensual circles, earning a deep sigh from the petite girl in his arms. He could feel his manhood hardening to an almost painful state and the erotic sight of Rukia grinding her pelvis against him was enough for Byakuya to throw her right onto the couch and make love to her.

But Byakuya being Byakuya, as much as he wanted to take Rukia right on the spot, he knew that it wasn't a good idea. Anybody could walk in at the moment and also, the shinigamis would definitely sense his reiatsu fluctuating. He stopped his ministrations on Rukia and pulled her gently away from him as she groaned in protest.

"N-Not here, Rukia." panted Byakuya as he set Rukia down on her feet. "We cannot do this here."

After a few deep breaths, Rukia finally nodded as she smoothed her hair and robes. "You're right."

There was silence between them as both of them were taking the moment to catch their breath, hoping the air would clear their foggy mind.

"Rukia, about the letter from the elders just now, I am going to tell you now." Byakuya finally said as he motioned for Rukia to sit down on the couch.

Worry consumed Rukia as she sat down, her eyes fixed on Byakuya. "What is it?"

"Before I start, I want you to know that I will not allow it to happen so you do not have to worry about it." said Byakuya.

Rukia nodded uncertainly and Byakuya continued. "The letter was of the elders' orders for me to be present at the dinner function next week."

Rukia frowned. "Well, I know you've always hated these. But that doesn't sound so bad."

"I am not finished, Rukia." said Byakuya seriously as he gave a soft sigh. "The elders want me to get married."

At the last word, Rukia almost fell off the couch but quickly steadied herself and stood up as she stared at Byakuya.

"Married?" she echoed in disbelief. "To who?"

"According to Minami-sama, they have handpicked a few ladies who will be present at the dinner next week and they want me there to get to know each of them better." replied Byakuya.

"A-And then what is supposed to happen?" asked Rukia as she tried to keep her voice steady.

Byakuya held Rukia's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Nothing will happen, Rukia. I will inform the elders that I will not be attending the dinner."

"But that will mean that you're defying them." replied Rukia worriedly.

"Rukia, I am head of the Kuchiki household now. There is nothing they can force me to do."

Rukia nodded numbly but Byakuya knew that she was not convinced. He hated to see Rukia so worried and helpless especially if the matters concern him. Byakuya knew that the elders would not give up on the idea so easily and he was afraid that somehow, Rukia might get implicated too.

"Rukia, do not worry. Minami-sama and grandfather will be coming by for dinner tonight. I will convince them to drop the idea." said Byakuya as he hugged Rukia close to him, secretly dreading of what might be coming tonight.

* * *

Rukia stood next to Byakuya as they waited patiently at the dining hall for the elders to arrive. She was wearing her formal blue kimono and her hands which were fisting on the delicate expensive material were starting to crumple it up.

"Everything is going to be fine." Byakuya said.

Rukia didn't answer. She could feel her stomach churning with nervousness and her hands were starting to sweat. She didn't like facing the elders, especially with Minami-sama. She was Ginrei's elder sister and she always has a say with matters involving the Kuchiki household. Rukia knew she should trust Byakuya when he said that nobody could force him to do anything that he didn't want to as he is the Kuchiki head but Rukia knew that the elders were not going to make things easy for him.

She clutched onto her kimono again as she stared dejectedly on the floor. Why did something like this have to happen just when she and Byakuya finally realised that they both have feelings for each other?

There was a sudden greeting from the servants and Rukia looked up to see grandfather Ginrei and Minami-sama walking towards them. She gave a bow and Byakuya did the same as the elders took their seats. Rukia and Byakuya proceeded to sit opposite the elders as the servants bustled away to bring their dinner.

"Have you decided, Byakuya?" asked Ginrei as he fixed his eyes on his grandson.

"Yes, I have decided not to attend, grandfather." replied Byakuya politely but firmly as both the elders shook their heads in disappointment.

"Why not just take a look at their pictures first, Byakuya-sama?" suggested Minami-sama as she fished out four photos and laid them on the table in front of Byakuya.

Curious, Rukia leaned in and caught a glimpse of the four women. Her eyes widened immediately. The four women bore great beauty and all four of them looked like real noble ladies with an air of classiness and gracefulness. Rukia stole a quick glance at Byakuya, wondering what his reaction to these women may be, but found Byakuya to be staring straight at Minami-sama, his eyes never once on the photos in front of him.

"My decision remains the same." replied Byakuya coldly as he pushed the photos towards Minami-sama, his eyes never breaking contact with her.

Minami-sama laughed. "Oh, please do not be silly, Byakuya-sama. Do take a look at them. They are all of equal status to you and I am sure you will be very satisfied with one of them here."

"My decision remains the same." repeated Byakuya, his face impassive.

Minami-sama dropped her smile immediately as impatience took over her features. "Please, Byakuya-sama, you know this will strengthen the Kuchiki clan. And it is time you should get married and produce an heir."

"I will do everything I can to help strengthen the Kuchiki family." said Byakuya as Minami-sama's face lit up but then fell again when Byakuya continued. "But marriage is out of the question."

Ginrei sighed as he turned to Minami-sama. "I told you that he is a rather stubborn boy. There is no point in forcing him now. Byakuya will not do it."

Minami-sama sighed in defeat as she put the photos away, disappointed. Rukia finally heaved a sigh of relief. Is that all over? It wasn't that bad. And Byakuya was right, there was nothing they could do to force him if he doesn't agree.

Dinner was soon served and nobody spoke a word as they all ate in silence. Rukia liked it this way. She prayed that it would remain quiet this way all the way until dinner ends and she could excuse herself away from the elders. Nothing good ever came out from Minami-sama's mouth and Rukia was glad that she seemed to have given up hope on the thought of Byakuya getting married.

But Rukia's prayers went unanswered. After five minutes, Minami-sama seemed to perk up as though another idea had come into her mind.

She turned to Ginrei rather excitedly as she spoke. "Do you remember what we talked about the other day if Byakuya remains stubborn?"

Rukia noticed Byakuya putting down his chopsticks, as he stared at the elders, his eyes tensed. Rukia was curious herself. What does Minami-sama have in mind now?

Ginrei seemed to ponder for a moment before he nodded. "Oh yes, I know what you're referring to. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell them about it since we're all here."

Minami-sama seemed satisfied that Ginrei agreed as she clapped her hands in delight. "Since there is no way Byakuya-sama wants to get married, then perhaps Rukia would like to do the honour."

There was a moment of deathly silence as Byakuya stared at the elders, his fists clenched tightly together and Rukia who was gaping at them like a goldfish. The silence was finally broken as Rukia's chopsticks fell to the table with a noisy clatter.

"W-What? Me? Why?" asked Rukia, her eyes wide with shock.

Ginrei cleared his throat as he looked at Rukia kindly. "There is a time where you will get married, Rukia, so why not now?"

"You mean marrying whoever I like?" asked Rukia as she continued to stare at them in disbelief.

"Of course not!" cut in Minami-sama as she forced herself not to roll her eyes. "We will pick out several young men from respectable houses and you are free to choose from anyone of them."

"I forbid it." A voice came loud and clear from Rukia's side as the elders turned to stare at Byakuya.

Ginrei sighed. "Byakuya, you have no right to forbid this. This is not about you. This is about Rukia."

"Rukia's matters are my concern, grandfather." replied Byakuya who was trying to control his temper.

"I know you care for your sister, Byakuya. But this is getting out of hand. You do realise that she will be getting married one day, do you?" asked Ginrei.

Byakuya refused to answer so Ginrei continued. "Do not worry, Byakuya. We will find someone who will be suitable and will be able to take good care of Rukia."

"No." came Byakuya's reply as he stared at his grandfather. "I will not allow it."

"This is not the time to be spoilt, Byakuya-sama." chided Minami-sama as she stared at Byakuya disapprovingly. "Someone has to get married. And since you flatly rejected us, then Rukia will be our next choice."

Rukia stared at the elders and then at Byakuya in horror. She did not expect that the elders would suggest something like this. Rukia knew she had to speak up for herself. If Byakuya were to defend her any further, the elders might suspect something. After all, when will Kuchiki Byakuya be so concerned about matters that didn't directly involve him? Rukia had never disobeyed the elders before and she knew that they would disapprove of her even more but with a shaky breath, Rukia mustered up the courage to open her mouth.

"I-I don't want to get married…" said Rukia as she bowed to the elders. "I'm sorry but I won't agree to it."

Minami-sama scoffed. "Really, are you trying to follow Byakuya-sama's footsteps as well? When did the two of you turned to be so disrespectful? I can still understand for Byakuya-sama but you? Remember where you really came from, Rukia. Remember how much the Kuchiki clan has helped you. Is this how you are going to repay us?"

Rukia continued to bow in shame. Minami-sama was right. She was just another Rukongai rat before she was adopted into the Kuchiki family and she was grateful. In normal circumstances, Rukia knew she might have probably agreed to the arrangement reluctantly. But now, everything is different. Byakuya was not her Nii-sama anymore. He was her lover and Rukia couldn't bear the thought of leaving him. They had lived together for so many years and Rukia didn't like to admit but she knew she was getting dependent on Byakuya even before they became lovers. So many times he had saved her from death, so many times where she would just feel safe knowing that Byakuya was just a few rooms away when she had woken up from nightmares of what happened back in Hueco Mondo. Yes, there was no way she could ever leave Byakuya.

"Simmer down, Minami." said Ginrei but his eyes were filled with disappointment when he turned to Rukia. "You are a disappointment, Rukia."

Rukia could feel her eyes getting hot as tears threatened to surface but she tried to remain composed. She had always liked and respected Ginrei and he was actually nice to her but when he had turned to Rukia looking disappointed in her, Rukia felt her heart growing heavier by the second. She felt as though she had failed Ginrei, the elders and the Kuchiki name.

"I-I'm really sorry." muttered Rukia as she finally looked up. She could feel Byakuya's gaze on her but her gaze remained fixed on the elders.

"Rukia, I know that you do not agree to this. But I have to say that on this matter, you do not have a choice anymore." replied Ginrei gravely. "Take it as a form of repayment or obligation, whichever it is, you have to choose one of these men and marry him."

Ginrei then slid an envelope towards Rukia. "There are photos and details of some of the men we had picked out for you in here. Please let us know your choice soon."

Rukia was about to reach for the envelope but it was suddenly swept to the ground as Byakuya had stood up and swiped it to the ground.

"Neither of us will get married." stated Byakuya firmly as he stared at both of the elders. "Now please see your way out."

Ginrei seemed slightly surprise by Byakuya's rudeness but did not utter another word as he shook his head and left the hall followed by Minami-sama.

They soon heard the main gate opened and closed as Byakuya took Rukia by the wrist and led her into his room where they could have some privacy. As soon as the shoji door slid shut, Rukia looked at Byakuya in despair.

"What should we do, Byakuya?" she whispered.

"There is nothing to do, Rukia." he replied firmly. "None of us will be going along with them. None of us will be getting married to any stranger."

Rukia wanted to believe Byakuya but she knew the power the elders had on her. She would not be surprised if they were to kick her out of the Kuchiki house and send her straight back to Rukongai.

"I don't want to go back to Rukongai." Rukia whispered to herself as she leaned against the wall.

"Do not be silly, Rukia. There is no way I will allow you to return there even if you wanted to." replied Byakuya as he took hold of her wrist and led her to sit on his bed.

Rukia sighed heavily, her eyes staring dejectedly on the floor. "The elders will not let me get away with this. And truth to be told, I owe the Kuchiki house too much. Maybe… Maybe I should just…"

"Just what?" probed Byakuya as he shifted closer to her, his eyes filled with concern.

"Maybe I should just go along with them." muttered Rukia as Byakuya froze.

Rukia didn't dare to look at Byakuya but felt him pulling her into a tight embrace as they sat next to each other on the side of the bed.

"Rukia, do not say that ever again." whispered Byakuya into her ear, his tone almost painful. "Please do not say that again."

"B-But-"

"No buts, Rukia." replied Byakuya as he placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. "Let us pretend this never happened. We can talk about it tomorrow."

Rukia nodded and was about to stand up and leave the room when she felt Byakuya pulling her tighter into his embrace, refusing to let her go.

"Byakuya, I need to go back to my room." she said gently.

Byakuya did not reply but continued to hold onto Rukia tightly, his brows furrowed with determination. Rukia could almost feel the urge to laugh. She was actually amused by Byakuya's behaviour. It seemed as though he was acting like a spoilt young boy. Was this how he behaved when he was a teenager? Rukia actually thought it was rather endearing.

"I need to go back to my room to sleep, Byakuya." Rukia said again as she tried to wriggle out of his embrace.

"I want you here, Rukia." Byakuya finally replied, his tone soft and gentle. "I want you here tonight."

Rukia stiffened as she felt herself tingle with excitement. What did Byakuya mean? Did he mean that in an innocent way where they would cuddle and sleep together? Or did he actually mean that he wants to sleep with her but in a less innocent way? Rukia's thoughts were halted as she felt Byakuya pushing her gently onto his bed as he kissed her hotly in the mouth.

* * *

Byakuya deepened the kiss as soon as Rukia's lips parted. He stroked his tongue against hers as his hand outlined her curves. He could see Rukia's fingers clenching onto the silk sheets beneath her as she moaned. Byakuya was pleased to be the man who was able to hear her moaning beneath him. Byakuya's lips left hers as he continued the trail down to her neck where he sucked and nipped at her playfully.

Byakuya wanted to mark Rukia. She was his. Nobody could have her. Byakuya could feel possessiveness and jealousy kicking in when he heard that Rukia wanted to give up and just go along with the elders. He was afraid of losing her. Byakuya didn't want another man to have her. He wanted Rukia to be by his side.

Byakuya's hand went up to caress Rukia's face lovingly before slowly trailing down towards her neckline, then her cleavage and finally came to rest on the obi sash that was holding her shinigami robes together. In one fluid motion, the sash came undone and her robes were on the floor as the cold brisk air hit Rukia. Byakuya could see her nipples harden immediately as she blushed heavily under his gaze.

"D-Don't stare." she murmured as her hands tried to cover her front.

Byakuya pulled her hands away gently as he leaned into her and whispered, "You are perfect, Rukia. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this."

There was no reply from Rukia but Byakuya could see the tenderness in her eyes as she pulled him towards her, lips meeting lips. Byakuya closed his eyes as he inhaled her scent. He could feel her fingertips gliding back and forth on his back as his hand groped onto one of her breast and massaged it. He heard a sigh of pleasure from her as his fingers went to her nipple and gave a slight squeeze. Byakuya's mouth left hers as he placed his hot mouth onto another breast. He heard Rukia gasp and he smirked playfully as he fondle with her nipple with his tongue as his other hand continued to massage her other breast.

The air in the room seemed heavier and hotter as Byakuya's hand left her breast and came to the soft untampered curls between Rukia's thighs. Rukia's eyes shot open immediately as she used her elbows to prop herself up.

"What is the matter, Rukia?" asked Byakuya sensually as one of his fingers slowly stroked her, causing Rukia to shiver in delight as goose bumps formed on her arms.

"B-Bya…" she panted as she felt another sluggish stroke from Byakuya.

Byakuya watched as Rukia's head fell back, a soft moan escaping her lips. She was so wet Byakuya had the urge to take her right on the spot. But Byakuya wanted their first time to be slow. He wanted to savour every part of Rukia. Byakuya slowly inserted one finger into Rukia's tight warmth and heard her groan. He worked on her slowly, thrusting his finger in and out as slowly as he could as he watched her expression. She seemed to be in slight discomfort at first but then her expression turned to one where she seemed to want more. Her breaths came out ragged as her head fell back onto the silk sheets, eyes closed.

Byakuya could feel her getting wetter as he inserted a second finger in. Rukia moaned appreciatively as his thumb stroked her as both of his fingers moved around her bundle of nerves. Byakuya began to draw his fingers out as Rukia gave a small whine of protest. As soon as his fingers came back out, he plunged them into her once again and heard another moan from Rukia. He began to pump his fingers into her as Rukia's moans became louder.

"B-Byakuya, please…" she moaned as she arched her back, her grip on the silk sheets so strong as though she was going to rip them apart any moment.

Byakuya couldn't take it any longer. His erection was so painful now and he knew that if he doesn't take Rukia now, he would soon make a mess of his pants. He pulled his fingers out of Rukia fully as he struggled out of his robes. In a flash, his robes had joined Rukia's robes on the floor as he leaned down to capture her lips into a kiss.

Rukia's eyes opened slowly as Byakuya kissed her tenderly. His lips moved towards the side of her face as his hands stroked her arms, to keep her warm. Byakuya gritted his teeth as Rukia shifted slightly beneath him, the action causing her wet folds to brush against his manhood accidentally. Byakuya swallowed thickly as Rukia's eyes widened with surprise when she realised what she had done.

"S-Sorry, it wasn't on purpose." she apologised quickly as her face turned a few shades redder.

Byakuya did not answer as he panted heavily against her neck. Byakuya could feel his throbbing erection aching for release and he slowly lowered himself. He saw Rukia stiffen suddenly as she clutched onto his shoulders tightly. Her eyes seemed worried and it looked as though she was holding her breath.

"Rukia, is this your first time?" asked Byakuya as he stared at her, his heart pounding loudly against his chest as he waited for her answer. Byakuya hoped to be her first. He could not bear the thought of Rukia giving herself to another man. Rukia stayed silent for a moment and Byakuya's heart filled with dread. Had she already given herself to someone else? That Kurosaki brat perhaps? He continued to look at Rukia and she finally answered.

"Y-Yes." she said softly as she looked at Byakuya shyly. "You'll be my first."

Byakuya's heart leapt with joy as he heard her answer. He gazed at her fondly and pressed his lips on her forehead.

"Your first, and hopefully last." murmured Byakuya as he brushed the stubborn bang off her face.

Rukia smiled as she stared up at him. "Definitely."

"I will be gentle, Rukia. I promise." whispered Byakuya as he lowered himself onto her.

Byakuya heard Rukia wince as he pushed his member in slowly. He went still for a moment as Rukia tried to catch her breath. Rukia soon nodded, indicating that he should continue and Byakuya pushed in again. He could feel the barrier and he knew that this was going to hurt. She was so small after all. Byakuya stroked Rukia's cheeks as his mouth went to seek hers. As soon as he heard Rukia moaning into the kiss, Byakuya plunged himself into her in one swift movement, breaking the barrier completely. He heard Rukia whimper into the kiss and saw a tear trickling down her eye as she clamped her eyes shut.

"It will be alright, Rukia. Trust me." murmured Byakuya as he kissed her tears away.

Rukia nodded and opened her eyes. "I trust you, Byakuya."

Byakuya waited for Rukia's tears to subside as he slowly moved within her. The first movement made Rukia hiss in pain and Byakuya kept his pace slow. After a few strokes, Byakuya could see that Rukia was starting to enjoy the sensation. She was moaning now as she scratched onto his naked back eagerly.

"F-Faster, Byakuya." she groaned as Byakuya gladly complied.

Byakuya could feel a sheen of sweat on his back as he plunged into her again and again as Rukia moaned loudly beneath him. Rukia's legs were now around his torso, keeping him with her. Rukia arched her back just when Byakuya felt her inner walls clenching around his member as she came. Byakuya could feel his orgasm coming up and he plunged into Rukia in one hard stroke as he came into her.

Byakuya slowly pulled out of Rukia as he panted. He lay next to her and pulled her towards his chest as he wrapped his arms around her and whispered lovingly into her ear.

"I love you."

* * *

**A/N:** Finally the *cough* sex *cough cough* scene you guys had been waiting for! Well, I hope I did okay with the lemon. I'm still really inexperienced in writing smut so do forgive me if it sucked. I really did the best I could! Anyway, did any of you guys expect that the elders would suggest that Rukia would get married? Do type me a review or flame if you must! I welcome criticisms so feel free to type me anything you want. Oh, please don't review stupid things like incest or whatsoever. If you're itching to do that, bugger off.  
Anyway, hope you guys have a brilliant weekend ahead. Make mine a brilliant one too by typing me reviews okay? Til then, my dears! :D


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hi all! 8 months since I've updated this story. Sorry about it! I didn't expect it would take me 8 months to post up the next chapter. I actually had the first half typed out 5 months ago and didn't know how to continue from there. Anyway, I hope there's still people reading this. I hope my writing hasn't gone stale after so long. Onward with the story then! :D

* * *

The sound of the birds twittering woke Rukia up as she cracked her eyes opened. She blinked several times before realising that she was not in her room. The events from last night replayed in her mind as she blushed and quickly sat up while clutching on to the blanket. She slowly turned to her side and let out a sigh of relief to find it empty. No Byakuya.

She actually preferred it this way. She wouldn't know what to say or do if Byakuya was next to her right now and she wouldn't want him to see her getting embarrassed. Rukia stood up and immediately felt a dull ache between her thighs as she winced. It probably would not have hurt as much if Byakuya hadn't insisted on another round. As she walked towards Byakuya's bathroom, her gaze fell onto his table where a certain rabbit plushie stood. She couldn't help but let out a giggle. So Byakuya had brought back the rabbit plushie after all. She was still wondering if he had actually disposed of it or merely had "forgotten" to bring it back.

It was actually nice to be in Byakuya's room. She had never really examined his room carefully before. Classy and expensive looking paintings decorated the wall and his table was very neat with books stacked neatly on the side. The only odd-looking thing is the rabbit plushie which stood out the most. Finally deciding that she was going to be late, Rukia quickly made her way to the bathroom and started cleaning herself up.

As soon as she was done, Rukia slid the door of Byakuya's room open and made her way towards the main gates when a servant hurried over, envelope on hand.

"Rukia-sama, please hold on," said the servant as she bowed to Rukia. "Please take this with you. Minami-sama had ordered me to make sure you received this."

Rukia frowned as she nodded and took the envelope from the servant. Making her way to her division, Rukia ran her fingertips against the seal of the envelope. She recognised it as the envelope from yesterday's dinner which Byakuya had swept if to the floor in anger. She was contemplating if she should take a peek inside out of curiosity just when she heard the bang of a door being slid opened.

"Oh, Rukia, what made you drop by?" squealed Matsumoto as she popped out of the tenth division door.

"Oh, I was just passing by. I'm on my way to my division." explained Rukia as she heard the irritated mumbling coming from Hitsugaya Toshiro from inside the office.

Matsumoto gave an airy wave and quickly pulled Rukia into the office. "Come, help me convince my Taichou here that we should have a party tomorrow night!"

Before Rukia could answer, she was already dragged into the office as a very annoyed Hitsugaya Taichou was trying to remain calm by sipping his tea. A cackling noise on the other side of the room distracted Rukia and she turned immediately. It was a small TV and there was some show playing on it.

"Is that a TV?" asked Rukia, as she turned to Matsumoto. "How did you guys get it up here? Does it even work here?"

Matsumoto gave a laugh. "The other time I was down at the living world with Ikkaku and Hisagi, I purchased it and made them carry it back for me. Of course my Taichou wasn't pleased but the kiddie shows managed to convince him that this was a rather good addition to our office."

Rukia tried to stifle a giggle and turned to look at Toshiro, who had a very large throbbing vein on his forehead.

"Enough of that nonsense, Matsumoto." he warned. "I wasn't watching anything from it. I only let you keep it because you promised to finish that pile of paperwork that you have owed me for a few months!"

"Sure, sure, Taichou. Whatever you say." replied Matsumoto in a sing-song manner but quickly turned to Rukia and whispered. "You shouldn't believe him. I caught him watching Doraemon twice!"

Rukia wasn't sure what is Doraemon but was certain that Toshiro had another vein surfaced on his forehead and he was now gripping on to his teacup harder than ever.

"W-Well, I should really go. There's still tons of paperwork for me to do." said Rukia as she gave an apologetic smile to Matsumoto.

"Ah, but you haven't helped me convince my Taichou!" wheedled Matsumoto. "Or just stay for awhile and watch some TV with me. Look, the really funny show is coming up."

Rukia glanced at Matsumoto, amused. "How do you even get to watch these shows?"

"That wasn't a problem. I managed to convince Nemu to help me get it done from the research lab. All she had to do was to pluck some wires and put some new ones in and that was it!" replied Matsumoto, her gaze fixed on the TV screen.

"I really should go." said Rukia as she glanced at the clock.

"Really?" asked Matsumoto as her face fell. "It's too bad you can't stay and watch this with me. It's really good, you know. This guy and this girl got married together but only out of convenience for each other. They even drew up a plan as to when they should divorce as they both had someone they liked and I was at the part where the other guy is-"

"Enough, Matsumoto." interrupted Toshiro. "Let Kuchiki go already. She has paperwork to do _unlike_ _you_."

"Are you granting me free from paperwork for the whole of today?" shouted Matsumoto in glee. "Taichou, you're the best!"

"I was only being sarcastic!" roared Toshiro as he flung his teacup at his lieutenant and Rukia took the chance to slip away.

* * *

As Rukia reached her destination. A lone figure was standing outside her division.

"Rukia! You're finally here!" shouted the figure.

Frowning, Rukia walked closer and was surprised to see an unexpected friend, a look of worry on his face.

"Tanako? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" asked Rukia.

Tanako shook his head and his gaze fell immediately as he noticed the envelope on Rukia's hand. "So you know about it too, huh. And I thought you would be the last to be notified."

Feeling more confused than ever, Rukia stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Of course I'm talking about the envelope, Rukia! What else? Can you believe I was the last one to know of it? But of course, I don't really want this, unless you want to. It's really up to you, Rukia." finished Tanako in one breath, a frown on his handsome face.

"How did you know about this envelope? And what has it got to do with you?" asked Rukia as she unsealed the envelope frantically.

Tanako rolled his eyes as he helped Rukia ripped open the seal. "Because I'm one of the candidates, Rukia!"

Rukia's eyes widened with shock as the contents of the envelope fell to the floor. A picture of Tanako was there along with some other photos of men she didn't recognise.

"Rukia, w-who are you going to pick?" asked Tanako uncertainly as he picked up the contents on the floor.

"I… I don't want any of this. I mean, I don't want to get married." replied Rukia, as she stared ahead, as though in a trance.

"Have you tried talking to the elders about it? Because I overhead the Kuchiki elders coming over to my place this morning to discuss about this matter. And I think they might have gone to these guys' places as well." said Tanako as he pointed to the other guys from the photos.

Rukia nodded as she finally looked away. She sighed as she sat down, her legs dangling from the edge as she kicked the grass in annoyance. Tanako joined her as he cast a worried look.

"Are you alright, Rukia? If you don't want this to happen, I'm sure there's a way out of this matter."

"I don't think there is, Tanako. It's not that simple. If I disagree, the elders will send me back to Rukongai. Bya- I mean Nii-sama even tried to stop them but it was no use." replied Rukia dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, Rukia. I don't know if there's anything I can do to help. Even if I withdraw, there are still the other candidates."

"I know." replied Rukia as she stared at the clear blue sky as silence fell between the two friends.

Why couldn't she be as carefree as Matsumoto? Sometimes she hated being a Kuchiki. Being a Kuchiki means that she has to appear proper and act like a lady in all times, especially in front of the elders. Being a Kuchiki also means that she cannot afford to make any mistakes or she would be punished severely. But deep inside, Rukia knew that if she was given a choice again, she would still want to become Kuchiki Rukia. Because that was how she had gotten to know Byakuya, how their flimsy sibling relationship had actually turned out to be something much more.

Why can't the elders just leave her be? Marriage? She wasn't prepared for this. As the word 'Marriage' invaded her brain, a phrase out of nowhere popped into her mind.

_Marriage of convenience…_

Rukia blinked. Marriage of convenience? Something was really familiar about it. That's right! The TV show Matsumoto was talking about earlier! Could she maybe…?

* * *

Byakuya gathered the pile of notes from his desk and made his way out of the sixth division. He wasn't usually the one who had to deliver the documents or paperwork but he had sent the rest of the sixth division training and Renji to the eleventh division to collect some documents. He did not want to risk bumping into Kenpachi who, in Byakuya's opinion, was too much of an uncivilized beast who was constantly wasting his precious time. He would rather deliver paperwork to the tenth division and make his way back. At least he knew Hitsugaya would never want to engage in pointless battles unlike a certain beast from the eleventh squad.

He soon arrived at the tenth division and could hear loud music blaring from the office and he slid open the door to find Matsumoto dragging Hitsugaya Toshiro to the couch in front of a… was that a TV? A blue cat with round balls for paws was on the TV screen and Byakuya stared at them as he cleared his throat loudly.

Toshiro managed to yank himself away from Matsumoto as he quickly took the documents from Byakuya, looking slightly embarrassed. Byakuya ignored them as he stepped out, feeling glad that although he had Renji as his lieutenant, he was thankful he never had to deal with Matsumoto. He was about to make his way back to the sixth division when he recognised a flare in Rukia's reiatsu nearby. It seemed as though she was excited or happy about something. Another unfamiliar reiatsu caught Byakuya's attention and he made his way to the thirteenth division.

Byakuya soon reached the thirteenth division and he carefully masked his reiatsu as he stood in a corner. He could see Rukia jumping about excitedly but could not hear what she said. He could only see her wild and excited gestures as she spoke to another man who seemed to be like Tanako. Byakuya inched closer and that was when he heard their conversation.

"So what do you think?" asked Rukia as she beamed at him.

Byakuya scowled. He didn't like it when Rukia beamed at Tanako like this. No, he didn't want Rukia beaming to anybody except to him.

"Are you sure, Rukia? You know how much I care for you so I would agree but are you sure about this yourself?" asked Tanako.

Rukia nodded. "Of course, let's get married, okay? Since we've known each other before plus you're one of the candidates, I'm sure the elders will readily agree to this without further questions."

Tanako smiled. "If you're so sure, Rukia, then let's get married."

Byakuya blinked. Once, twice and then blinked again. Had he heard wrongly? No, there was nothing wrong with his hearing. If so, why did he just hear Rukia agreeing to marry someone else other than him? And that someone else was Sato Tanako. Byakuya did not want to stand there anymore. The feeling made him feel slightly sick as he started walking away. Rukia marrying someone else? He was not ready for this.

What is going on? Byakuya tried to calm himself down as his mind began working furiously. So, as what he had heard, Tanako was one of the candidates too. Was this really a coincidence? But even if so, why on earth did Rukia just said that she wanted to marry him? Has she really given up hope that the two of them can never be together and decided that marrying Tanako would be a better option? If this was the case, Byakuya was really disappointed. Rukia was supposed to trust him and when he said he would make things work, he would try all means to get it done. After so many years, he thought Rukia should know better.

Did yesterday mean nothing to Rukia at all? Byakuya felt a painful tug somewhere in him as he walked back to his division. He did not understand. Rukia seemed to genuinely love and care for him but then she is suddenly marrying another man? Byakuya gritted his teeth in anger. He should have never said those three words to her last night. He had never even said those words to Hisana. In his short marriage with Hisana, he had only told her how much he cared and worried for her but not those three words. Byakuya always felt that there was not a need to say those three words. As long as the other party can feel it, that's good enough. But somehow, whenever Byakuya was with Rukia, he didn't mind saying those three words, in fact, he wanted to say them because he wants Rukia to know how he feels about her exactly. But right now, Byakuya regretted deeply. He should have never said those words to her.

* * *

Tanako smiled. "If you're so sure, Rukia, then let's get married."

Rukia nodded eagerly and laughed. "Married only in name, I remind you!"

"If you're absolutely sure about this, should I inform my family tonight?" asked Tanako.

Rukia nodded in excitement. "Of course, I'll let the elders know by tonight too. And thank you so much, Tanako. You'd be doing me a really huge favour."

Tanako grinned. "Always glad to be of help but I do hope that what you predict will come true, Rukia."

"It shouldn't be a problem. If you insist to divorce me after a few days or a week, there isn't anything much they can do but to agree." replied Rukia.

"But are you absolutely sure they won't ask you to pick out the other candidates even after I divorce you?" asked Tanako worriedly.

"Oh come on, they're not _that_ desperate to marry me off. Plus, it'd just look bad for the Kuchiki family if they really do that." said Rukia confidently. "And after that, I bet they'll stop bugging me for at least fifty years about getting married again."

Tanako smiled as he tousled Rukia's hair. "If you're so certain about this, then alright, I'll do it."

"Well, I have to inform my Nii-sama about this first. So I'll see you again at the wedding?" said Rukia as she turned to leave.

Tanako nodded. "No problem. Say, Rukia, just out of curiosity, is there someone you're attracted to now? Or are you just trying to get out of the marriage because you didn't feel like it?"

The sudden question stopped Rukia in her tracks and she slowly turned around. What should she say? Should she tell Tanako the truth? No, of course not, that would be too risky. And at the very least, she should consult Byakuya first before telling anyone about their secret relationship.

"N-No, of course not. Nobody I like at the moment." answered Rukia.

Tanako seemed thoughtful for a brief moment but finally smiled. "Okay, Rukia. I'd be on my way now. See you!"

And with a wave, Tanako shunpo-ed off in a flash.

Rukia sighed with relief as she made her way towards the sixth division. Finally, there is a way out of this matter! Rukia could not help but feel proud of herself. She had managed to come up with a plan without the help of anyone, not even Byakuya. She giggled childishly as she thought of how amazed Byakuya would be with her plan. It wasn't before long when Rukia noticed a familiar figure a few feet away from her and her eyes lighted up immediately.

"Nii-sama!" she shouted as she ran towards him.

Byakuya did not stop but continued walking in a very fast pace as though he had not heard Rukia at all. He soon disappeared into the sixth division office and Rukia frowned. She was certain she shouted loud enough. So why hadn't Byakuya heard her? Was he perhaps, distracted about something?

Shrugging off her thoughts, Rukia walked to the door of the sixth division and slid it open. It was empty, she realised as she knocked on Byakuya's office.

"Who is it?" came Byakuya's deep voice.

"It's Rukia. I have something important to tell you." replied Rukia but failed to contain the excitement from her voice.

There was no reply from Byakuya for several seconds and Rukia was about to speak when she heard Byakuya's voice again.

"Come in."

Rukia slid the door open excitedly as she grinned. She was about to open her mouth to tell Byakuya all about the plan when he interrupted her.

"Congratulations, Rukia. I heard you are getting married to _that_ Sato Tanako." said Byakuya dryly.

Rukia blinked. Where had he heard it from? Had Tanako already informed his family and the family had informed the elders and then the elders had informed Byakuya? Does news really travel _that_ fast?

"I heard the conversation between you and Sato Tanako." explained Byakuya when he saw how confused Rukia looked.

"O-Oh, well, don't you think it's a good plan?" asked Rukia excitedly as she smiled up at him.

"A good plan?" echoed Byakuya. "If your idea of a good plan was to get married to him, then perhaps it is."

Rukia frowned. What is he talking about? And why does he look so cold? Did something major happen?

"Is everything okay?" asked Rukia uncertainly.

There was silence from Byakuya as he dipped his brush into the inkpot and continued writing. Rukia was not certain if she should speak. Why was he so upset? She decided to wait a little longer and see if he will respond.

Almost a minute passed when Byakuya accidently upset his inkpot and the back liquid started flowing out and slowly drenched Byakuya's paperwork. Rukia was surprised. He had never seen Byakuya so distracted like this and had never seen him upset an inkpot before.

"Are you alright?" asked Rukia again softly as she slowly walked to his side.

She heard him sigh irritably as he discarded the pile of papers in front of him into the trash can. Byakuya's eyes finally looked up and Rukia almost flinched as she saw the coldness in his grey eyes.

"Of course I am not alright, Rukia." he finally said and Rukia could see that he was trying very hard to control his anger. "Do you really expect me to be alright after hearing that conversation?"

"It was just a plan." she said quickly. "Just one week and he'll divorce me. The elders will never suspect and Tanako is really willing to help. I didn't know you'd get so upset."

The coldness in Byakuya's eyes was soon replaced by confusion as he stared at Rukia. "Divorce after a week? What plan are you talking about?"

"Didn't you hear the conversation? The plan was for me and Tanako to get married and he'll divorce me after a week and the elders will stop bugging me to get married for at least fifty years and we'd be free again." explained Rukia patiently.

Byakuya's mind was working furiously. Rukia was right. The elders would definitely stop their nonsense if Tanako were to divorce Rukia only after a week. They would be ashamed and would try to maintain a low profile for a period of time and would definitely not spoil the Kuchiki name by trying to marry Rukia off again. It was a perfect plan but Byakuya did not like the idea of Rukia marrying someone else. Even if it was a fake marriage, the thought was very unsettling.

"So what were you so mad about just now?" asked Rukia as Byakuya broke out of his reverie.

"Nothing." replied Byakuya, too proud to admit that he was feeling jealous.

Rukia arched an eyebrow as she gazed at him playfully. "Really? Nothing? I highly doubt so, Kuchiki Byakuya."

Byakuya remained silent as Rukia propped herself up to sit on the side of his desk. She was actually surprised that he had not asked her to come down and then reprimand her of how a real lady should actually sit. She knew he was changing and it was all for her.

"I love you too." muttered Rukia as her gaze fell to her shoes.

Byakuya lifted his head up immediately and stared at the blushing girl in front of him. "What?"

"I said I love you too." replied Rukia, this time a little louder as she concentrated on swinging her legs, feeling the heat creeping up to her cheeks.

"Why the sudden confession?" asked Byakuya slightly amused and surprised at her sudden words.

"W-Well, I just wanted to say it, that's all." replied Rukia as she avoided his gaze.

There was no reply from Byakuya as he suddenly grabbed Rukia's wrist and pulled her towards him. His mouth had quickly seek hers as Rukia's eyes widened with surprise. She inched herself closer to him, their lips never breaking contact.

It wasn't before long that Byakuya broke the kiss and looked at Rukia, his expression serious again.

"I think your plan is a good one, Rukia, but I still do not quite approve of you getting married to Sato Tanako."

Rukia frowned and hopped off the table at once, confused. "But didn't you just agree that it's a good plan? So, why do you still disapprove of it?"

Byakuya seemed reluctant to answer but continued to speak anyway. "I am not comfortable with the partner you have chosen for this plan."

"Tanako? What's wrong with him? He is the perfect person and had even agreed to this." replied Rukia.

Byakuya remained silent as Rukia stared at him suspiciously. "Is something going on between you and Tanako? It seems as though the both of you really hate each other."

"I just think that it would be inappropriate to impose him." replied Byakuya simply as he picked up his brush and began writing again.

"Impose? There would be no imposing at all. He said he's happy to help!" smiled Rukia.

Byakuya sighed. "And did he ask why did you come up with the plan?"

Rukia nodded. "Yes, I just told him that I wasn't ready for marriage."

"And he bought that?" asked Byakuya as he raised his eyebrows.

"Why wouldn't he?" replied Rukia as she laughed. "It is very believable."

"I just think that you should be careful around him, Rukia." warned Byakuya as he looked at the smiling girl seriously.

"Oh, come on, he's just a nice person who wants to help." said Rukia. "And he is my childhood friend."

"But Rukia-"

"No more buts please. Trust me, everything will work out fine. After that one week, I'd be free again and we can be together." replied Rukia as she took Byakuya's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Maybe we should visit the elders again and let them know that you object to this marriage." said Byakuya stubbornly.

Rukia let out an impatient sigh as she folded her arms. "That's not going to work and you know it. It wouldn't make a difference. There is no other way out of this other than using my plan and you know that."

Byakuya did not answer but his face still wore a look of disapproval.

"And what is with the deal between you and Tanako? Why does the two of you hate each other so much?" asked Rukia and sighed exasperatedly.

Rukia thought she saw Byakuya flinch slightly but wasn't very sure because if he had flinched, he seemed to have regained his composure fast.

"So what's the deal?" asked Rukia again.

"I am not sure as to what you are talking about, Rukia." Byakuya finally replied as he picked up his brush again and began writing.

Rukia frowned. "Come on, the way Tanako talks about you, his expression…"

"Then that is clearly his problem." replied Byakuya.

"Did you do something to him?" asked Rukia as she peered at him suspiciously.

Byakuya looked up, eyebrows raised. "No, why would I? He is not a person I would waste my time on."

Rukia rolled her eyes and finally threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine, so nothing is going on between the two of you. But I'll still be marrying Tanako."

Byakuya was about to open his mouth to protest again but Rukia never gave him the chance.

"No more protesting about this, Byakuya. I promise you he'll divorce me after a week of marriage and I'll be home with you again." interrupted Rukia as she smiled.

Before Byakuya could answer again, Rukia had waved and bounded out of the room.

* * *

Later that evening, Rukia found herself in the tea room with Minami-sama, grandfather Ginrei and Byakuya. She was serving tea to the elders and Rukia winced as some tea sloshed out of the Minami-sama's teacup. She prepared herself for the usual lecture but was surprised when there was only a disapproved sigh from Minami-sama.

"I am glad you have finally come to your senses, Rukia." said Minami-sama as she drank the tea deeply.

"I am very proud of you, my child." Ginrei said as he smiled kindly at Rukia. "Tanako-san is a good man and I am glad you have chosen him."

Rukia smiled politely and was about to answer when she thought she heard a snort from Byakuya, who was sitting beside her. She frowned and turned to him to find his face impassive as usual, staring straight ahead.

"Yes, I do hope grandfather and Minami-sama will approve of this marriage." replied Rukia as the elders beamed at her.

"Of course we will. The wedding will be on next week." replied Minami-sama as she managed to lift the corner of her lips, in what seemed like a smile to Rukia.

"Next week?" echoed Rukia as she noticed Byakuya flinched beside her. "So fast?"

Ginrei nodded. "Yes, what is the point of dragging it?"

"B-But don't we need any preparations or anything?" asked Rukia frantically. She never expected it to be that fast. She had expected it to be in a month or two.

"Oh, don't worry." replied Minami-sama with a wave of her hand. "Everything will be prepared for you."

Rukia stared at the elders, speechless as she noticed Byakuya clenching his fists at the corner of her eye.

Byakuya finally cleared his throat and stared at the elders. "Is it possible to delay the wedding? I have important matters to attend to and will not be able to make it next week."

Ginrei seemed thoughtful for a while before replying. "W-Well, perhaps we could…"

Rukia was about to exhale with relief when Minami-sama interrupted. "We can't. The Sato family are very anxious to see their son get married and we would not want to disappoint them. I am sure whatever important matters you have on hand could wait, Byakuya-sama. Your sister is getting married and you have to be there."

Byakuya was about to argue but Rukia had put a comforting hand on his beneath the table and quickly spoke. "I am sure Nii-sama can make it. Next week is fine then."

The elders seemed very pleased with Rukia as they finally stood up, preparing to take their leave. Rukia was about to show them out when Ginrei led her away from Minami-sama who was reprimanding Byakuya on the importance of Rukia's wedding and the Kuchiki name to one side of the room, out of earshot.

"Rukia," he said kindly as he stared at the confused girl. "I know this marriage was not your first choice but I am pleased that you hold the Kuchiki name so dearly to you to be able to overcome this. I am very proud of you and I am glad that you have picked the Sato household. They are kind people and will treat you nicely. But if…"

"But if?" asked Rukia as she stared at Ginrei who seemed to be reluctant to continue.

Ginrei finally snuck a glance at Minami-sama who was now busily lecturing Byakuya about getting married again soon and then he turned to Rukia.

"But if you were to run into any trouble when you are there, please do not hesitate to let me know, Rukia." replied Ginrei.

Rukia blinked. She had never expected Ginrei to show so much concern for her especially when she had been "tarnishing" the Kuchiki name ever since she was adopted. Rukia stared as the old man smiled at her kindly and patted her on the back. Rukia could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to blink them away. She did not like lying to Ginrei and did not want to see his disappointed face when the seperation was announced.

"Now, don't cry, Rukia." smiled Ginrei as he noticed her watery eyes. "Everything will be fine. The Sato family is wonderful and you have made the Kuchiki family so proud of you."

A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye as she heard the words that she had always wanted to hear ever since she had been adopted. The Kuchiki family were finally proud of her… Rukia couldn't care less about Minami-sama but she had always wanted to do Ginrei proud. And hearing the words from Ginrei, Rukia felt her heart growing heavier at the thought of what she is planning to do after a week of her marriage.

Rukia quickly wiped the tear away and smiled at Ginrei as she muttered her thanks. Ginrei nodded and patted Rukia's hands in a comforting manner as he walked towards Minami-sama who was still going on and on.

"Let's go, Minami." said Ginrei as Minami-sama finally stopped to catch her breath, gave Byakuya a pointed look, nodded and left with Ginrei.

As soon as they were gone, Byakuya rushed to Rukia's side, frantic.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. "What did grandfather say to you to make you cry?"

"You saw?" asked Rukia as she took a deep breath to try to calm herself down.

"Of course I did. How could I not notice his unusual behaviour when he pulled you aside?" replied Byakuya as he looked at Rukia, concerned.

Rukia smiled. "I'm fine. Grandfather just…"

"Just what?" probed Byakuya, curious.

As Ginrei's words echoed though her mind again, Rukia felt her eyes burning and she quickly turned away, afraid of letting Byakuya see her cry.

"Is anything wrong?" asked Byakuya as he reached out to take Rukia's hand in his. "You can tell me if anything is bothering you."

Rukia took another shuddering breath before turning around to face Byakuya. "I don't want to see his disappointed face when he hears about the divorce. It somehow feels as though I'm lying to him and especially the way he was talking to me just now, I felt so guilty."

Byakuya gave a small smile as he pulled Rukia towards him. "I do not want you to be feeling this way, Rukia. I know it does not feel good to lie to grandfather but think about what we have to go through if we did not lie to him. Do you want to marry someone you do not love and spend the rest of your life with him? It is not fair to you, Rukia."

"I know. I just hate this feeling." mumbled Rukia as she sniffled against Byakuya's chest.

"There is nothing to worry about. After the separation, just tell grandfather that you did try your best in making the marriage work but things just did not work out." replied Byakuya.

"Will he understand?" asked Rukia in a small voice.

"I am sure he will." replied Byakuya.

Rukia nodded silently as she pulled herself away from Byakuya's embrace.

"I'm going to miss you." whispered Rukia as she looked up at Byakuya.

Byakuya pulled Rukia back into his arms and kissed the top of her head, a frown on his face. "I will too, Rukia. I cannot stand the thought of you being married to someone else."

"I promise I will be home with you one week after the wedding." replied Rukia as she hugged Byakuya tightly, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"And I shall look forward to that." smiled Byakuya as he lifted Rukia off her feet and carried her bridal style. "Now, how about making up to me in the bedroom?"

* * *

**A/N:** I hope it's a satisfactory chapter. Still can't believe it took me 8 months to come out with this. -_- I must be losing my touch. Anyway, please drop me a review and let me know what you think!  
And to those who have been waiting for me to update 'Undercover', I promise you I won't take long with it. I'm in the process of finishing it so please bear with me for a little bit. And thanks for reading! :D


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